Storm Blooded
by Lavender Wine
Summary: Her kind and theirs have fought for centuries. It was no secret that vampires and witches did not get along. But when her Coven starts working to initiate peace treaties, Cora must stay with the Sakamaki brothers for the remainder of the negotiations. Six vampire brothers were bad enough but things get complicated when there is resistance from behind the scenes...Warning! Dark fic!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** **What's up guys! Lavender here, this is just a story I came up with that I'll be working on periodically. I've also posted it to my fandom blog on tumblr thewheezingwyvern . Go check it out and follow me if you would like! This story was rated M for language, violence, darker themes, sexual situations and abuse. (More may be added) This story may be triggering. I will do my best to give warnings about certain triggers as they occur but this is a heads up in case I miss something.**

 **I also don't have any ships or anything yet for Cora so I'm just going to wing it and see how it progresses.**

It was nearly dusk by the time Cora had arrived at Sakamaki manor, the steadily dying sun wreathing the wrought iron gates in fiery reds and oranges. It was an ornate gate, engraved with elaborate embellishments but even a gilded cage was still a cage. A gust of wind rasped through the trees and sifted through her hair, a dusky rose that gleamed in the light of the fading sun. Daunted, she hefted one of her bags higher up on her shoulder and fixed her dark eyes on the crest above the gates.

'This is a mistake.' She thought with dread, 'Maybe I should just call back the driver or something.'

Cora touched the squirt bottle of holy water resting against her hip in her jacket pocket for reassurance. It was a flimsy defense against six vampires but her options were limited given the situation. The rosette ground her teeth as she felt a traitorous voice in her head urge her to leave. She could disappear, leave and if she was careful no one would be able to find her. It was so tempting because she knew that however long she had to stay here, it would be hell for her.

'Pull yourself together!' Cora snapped at herself, 'You can do this! You are Cora Fuller, a witch of the Court of Oak and Ash coven! This isn't just about you so just get your ass in there!'

With a deep breath she pushed open the gates. They groaned as they parted to admit her and she hauled her luggage up to the front door. There was no turning back so she squared her shoulders and knocked on the door. Cora immediately began kicking herself mentally when she noted that the knock was feeble and lacking in volume. She knocked again, harder this time and the door swung open slowly to admit her. The entrance way was grandiose, sprawling in elegant marble. A golden chandelier, artfully crafted dangled from the ceiling and an imperial staircase waited at the end of the great hall.

'Of course they would have a red carpet.' she noted dryly.

There was no one at the door when she stepped inside but she was not alone in the entrance hall. He was a composed individual, impeccably dressed with a crisp, white button down shirt. Cora suspected that it had been pressed to perfection and it paired nicely with the simple black coat. He was a stern figure and his eyes surveyed her apathetically behind his glasses. But his hair…his hair was a dark purple grey and Cora found that it reminded her of a storm. That was the only thing about him that made her feel comfortable.

"Cora Fuller?"

She nodded mutely in response to his question.

"You are early." He noted cordially, "I was not expecting such punctuality from one of your kind."

Cora bristled, "Funny. I was thinking the same thing of yours."

'You leech.' She added cantankerously in her thoughts.

"Your manners, however, are precisely what I expected: deplorable."

The witch narrowed her dark eyes into a glare. She hardly thought that was fair since he was the one who greeted her with such a back-handed compliment. Cora wanted to pursue the argument, insist that he was the one who started all of this but she decided that the argument "you started it" sounded distinctly childish. And definitely not worth it so she dropped it.

"Not to worry. I'll do my best to live _down_ to your expectations."

If he was at all bothered by her behavior, he didn't show it. His face was one of stony indifference and he regarded her coolly. Inwardly, she squirmed because something about his gaze unnerved her but she refused to give any more control to him than he already had. So she met his wine eyes with her dark ones, trying her best to maintain a defiant expression.

"Fufufufu, well what do we have here?"

Cora jerked her head over to the side to see yet another vampire of the manor. His hair was a rich red and it tumbled past his jawline to dust just above his shoulders. But his eyes were striking, an acidic green that made her think of the toxic plants the herbalist witches would work with in her coven. The stranger was dressed casual enough, his button down shirt untucked with a loose fitting tie and a fedora on his head.

The witch narrowed her eyes in a glare when she noticed how he was leering at her, poisonous eyes slithering across her skin. She felt grimy just by the way he was looking at her and found herself really wanting a shower. If Cora hadn't been so burdened with luggage, she would have folded her arms over her chest in a further show of displeasure. But her arms were occupied and it was that moment that she realized that while she may be able to touch the squirt bottle in her jacket pocket, it would be a lot harder to fish it out quickly should she need it. The witch decided she could put her stuff, or at least one bag, down.

"Take care of her luggage." Ordered the stranger who had first greeted her, his face still devoid of emotion.

The rosette had no idea who he was talking to since she had not seen anyone else in the room. But she was quickly informed when a cold set of hands took the bag from her shoulder. An undignified squeak of surprise escaped her since she did not hear or see the servant until he was right on top of her. But Cora didn't want strangers handling her stuff, she had carried a lot of personal ingredients and tools with her and she didn't trust other people with it.

"H-hey wait a minute!" she protested.

But the servant had already vanished with her stuff. She deflated but was once again startled when she felt a cold body press firmly against her from behind. Cora quickly noticed that the red-head was no longer off to the left where she had first seen him and concluded that it must be him behind her. Icy hands caressed up her arms and she felt his cold breath pool onto her neck.

"I knew we had a witch bitch coming to stay with us but I didn't expect she'd be so adorable."

Not at all appreciating the intrusion and the uninvited touching, Cora whipped around, pulling the squirt bottle from her pocket. The red-head tightened his hold on her left arm, thinking that she was trying to pull away but he could not stop her from spraying him directly in the face. The vampire yelped and released her instantly, rubbing his face with his sleeve to clear away the holy water. However, once the faint hissing stopped and his face was dry, he gave her a dirty look. Cora squared her jaw, feeling the cold bite of fear sink deep into her heart as she watched his still smiling face.

'I see you're already making friends, Cora.' She thought to herself.

"Now what was that for, witch bitch?"

"If you're going to act like a dog, I'm going to treat you like one." She retorted sharply.

"Laito…" Sighed the man in glasses, "It is highly inappropriate to lay your hands upon a woman you just met."

Laito chuckled, but she could hear the dark edge that laced his tone, "But how could I possibly resist something so delectable, Reiji?"

"Oi! Don't tell me you tried to bite her without Ore-sama!"

'For the love of Artemis, am I going to meet every one of these leeches at once?! Can't we space this out over a week?' Cora lamented inwardly.

Yet another red-head appeared but he was closer to the staircase near Reiji. His hair was a lot shorter than Laito's but it was boyishly messy and his eyes were a lighter green. Cora cocked a brow at his choice of wearing a ribbon around his neck that trailed down his chest to disappear into his shirt, which was barely buttoned at all.

"Ore-sama gets first bite of our prey…" he said lowly, suddenly appearing before Cora.

The witch in question lifted the squirt bottle in a threatening manner towards the newcomer and narrowed her eyes, "I will use this…"

"Psh is that supposed to mean something to me?" He scoffed leaning in to intimidate her.

"Careful, Ayato." Laito advised, "Witch bitch has holy water in that bottle."

A cocky smirk crossed Cora's lips for a moment and she sloshed the water for good measure, "He's right. Laito already got a taste."

Ayato narrowed his eyes, angrily, "Wipe that look off your face. All I have to do is take that bottle from you and then you have nothing."

'Don't hex him, don't hex him, don't hex him, don't hex him…' Cora thought, reigning in her urge to prove him wrong.

"You're nothing but prey. A blood bag like any other human to feed on."

'Oh he did NOT just…fuck it.'

Cora pulled the trigger on the bottle, giving Ayato a face full of holy water. The water hissed when it came in contact with his skin and he reeled back, snarling.

"Let's get one thing straight here, leech. I am not your prey and I am certainly not like any human you've come across. I am a witch of the Court of Oak and Ash and you will not talk to me that way." She lifted her chin proudly.

"I will talk to you any way I like!" He roared, advancing blindly towards her as he continued to rub away the holy water, "And just you wait until I get my hands on you!"

"Touch me and I will curse you into the next millennia. Your GRANDCHILDREN will be cursed when I'm done!"

"That's enough." Reiji cut in coolly, pinching the bridge of his nose, "Ayato, step back from our guest. She is not a bride offered up to us. She is a diplomatic emissary, despite how unruly her behavior is and she will be remaining here for the rest of the negotiations." He flicked his piercing eyes over to Cora, "And you. Your attitude is a disgrace. Unless you desire for me to discipline you later then you will correct it immediately."

Cora's breath caught in her throat. Something about Reiji, perfection aside, really put her on edge. And she had no doubt in her mind that not only would he discipline her without hesitation that he would even enjoy it. She took his words to heart but not just because of his threat. Cora had less room to work with the vampires than they did with her. As much as she wished it were not true, witches have mostly been the aggressors within their long history of fighting each other.

She could defend herself safely if she felt her life was in danger but that was about it. Anything else would be called into question so there wasn't a lot of open attack magic she could do here. And if she continually acted aggressive towards the brothers with her magic then she would be forced to wear a seal to limit her power. That thought alone made her feel like she was trapped within the jaws of a wolf, teeth bearing down on her neck.

Cora dropped her gaze from Reiji's, "I understand…" she sighed.

"So this is what all of the fuss was about. I thought the witch would be cuter, Teddy. And that ugly mouth is so noisy….maybe we should kill her so we don't have to hear her anymore."

Out of all the things she had expected to see, a three hundred year old vampire with purple hair, plaid leggings, holding a teddy bear with an eye patch was definitely not one of them. She opened her mouth to say something to him but quickly closed it. The air was echoing softly with distant whispering. Whispering that had not been present until he had arrived. Cora's eyes widened when she realized that the indistinct whispering was coming from Teddy.

'Looks like Teddy has a passenger. Now the question is: did this boy summon it or did the spirit come by the bear on its own?'

He advanced towards the witch, his eyes glinting with madness, a wide grin across his mouth.

"Kanato stop." Reiji ordered, "We already discussed this, she is here for the peace talks and she is not to be killed."

Cora noticed that he said "killed" and not "harmed". She warily watched Kanato, who sulked at the news and hugged his bear tighter to his chest.

"But I want to kill her." He repeated more firmly, his voice rising.

'Note to self: avoid Kanato. He might not honor the treaties at all.'

"We are under orders from _him_ to not kill her. She must be kept alive. "

Cora was assuming by "him" Reiji was referring to Karl Heinz. While it was comforting to know that he had given his sons orders not to kill her, she still couldn't trust Karl any further than she could throw him. But Cora felt that way about all vampires.

"I don't understand why. She doesn't look special."

A scowl crossed her face at that. In her opinion Kanato wasn't that great looking either but Cora kept her opinions to herself. Faint whispering shuddered in her ears again and she rubbed her arms to try and stave off the chill. There were plenty of witches in her coven that delved into spirit work but she had never been one of them. Spirits always creeped her out.

"Well I suppose it was a good thing I wasn't brought here for my looks then." Cora said evenly, making sure to keep her displeasure off her face, "But I am not a diplomat. Even a blind person could tell that curbing my tongue is not a great forte of mine."

"Hmmm? Then what are you, witch bitch?"

She eyed him warily, "I'm…insurance. We recognize that a lot of us can become overzealous and gung ho about fighting with you vamps. But we look after our own. I'm here because it will help keep some of the more hot-headed spell casters from being stupid."

Laito's smirk widened considerably, "Look after your own? How cute. They brought you here as a scapegoat. Like a lamb to the slaughter." He laughed, "And you still think they are looking out for you? You might as well accept that you are our prey now."

"Ore-sama's prey." Ayato corrected advancing on her again.

Cora laughed then, "A scapegoat? Not at all, I _volunteered_ to be the one to come here."

"What?"

The witch gave Laito a triumphant smirk. There would likely be many moments in this house that she did not come out on top so she was going to take this victory while it was still there. She found it very satisfying that his attempt at trying to make her feel abandoned failed.

'Well now I have his number. He's going to make it his goal to try and break me down and make me feel alone.' Cora noted, 'I can take you, fang face.'

"I volunteered. Someone had to come or else the negotiations would stop. But no one was stepping up so someone had to."

Ayato snickered, "And so you came to us." His smirk widened, "You want to feel someone's fangs really badly, huh?"

There was a shift in the energy in the air as he drew close to her and Cora tensed. She already was hyper aware of how they were eyeing her like she was a walking blood bag but now Ayato was leaning in towards her with a sly smirk, licking his lips slowly. It was so tempting to summon some lightning and knock him flat on his back. If she did maybe he would stop looking at her like only prey.

'But I can't.' She thought begrudgingly, 'Using my magic to attack them repeatedly outside of a life threatening situation could make them put a seal on me.'

Ayato dropped his voice, "I've heard that Witch blood is something special. And rare to taste…"

"Really?" drawled Kanato, "I want to taste too!"

"Really now, Ayato, we can all share."

Laito began to advance forward too along with Kanato. Cora could feel the jaws of the trap closing in, their eyes a light with hunger. But it disturbed her to see how they were looking at her as a food source and not as a person. She knew that this would not be an easy task to do for her coven but not once had she imagined it would feel like this.

'Three of them and only one squirt bottle…' Cora realized, 'Shit. This was stupid. The holy water is great for one on one but if they gang up on me I can't do anything.'

But she wasn't ready to just give up. Cora moved to squirt Ayato in the face but Kanato snatched her wrist first and gave it a harsh twist. The witch yelped and the bottle was wrenched from her hand and tossed aside. This was happening, she realized with dread as Laito looped an arm around her waist from behind, heaving a shuddering breath into her ear.

"Mmmmm, you smell so divine witch bitch…"

"Get the fuck- eep!"

Kanato had swiped his tongue across the delicate skin of her wrist, startling Cora and she yanked it free of his grip. He widened his eyes at first in surprise before he laughed, his grin razor sharp and filled with ravenous intentions.

"Oh that's right, I forgot." Kanato took Cora's wrist in harder grip and yanked it towards him cruelly in a harsh twist.

"Ow!"

"You witches are a bit stronger than humans…" He licked again, "Mmmm, I can taste the power…"

Ayato took her chin in his hands and forced her to look back at him, "Hey, eyes on me. Ore-sama is the only one you should care about."

Her heart was hammering in her chest and she began to thrash within their grip. Laito laughed and merely tightened his grip.

"Why so frightened? You already heard Reiji, we can't kill you." He asked her, pressing his face against the side of her head in a faux tender gesture before he tugged sharply on her hair, "Hmmm I do still have to punish you for that holy water."

"Oh yeah…" Ayato laughed, "Isn't it taboo or something for you witches to get bitten? You think it is a violation of your magic? Your bodies?" His voice slipped down into a low timbre, "That we corrupt you?"

Cora felt herself trembling, felt her heart rate continue to rise as they closed in on her. But the more she stayed like this, the more she knew that she was giving them power. So she fought the fear with another emotion: anger.

"If you three don't get the fuck off of me, I swear by Artemis, I am going to curse you!"

Ayato laughed and tightened his grip on her jaw, "Shut your mouth and just give in."

'That's it. I'm done playing by the rules.'

Magic was a learned skill that took hard work and study. But every witch had at least one type that came to them naturally as if it their bones were made and shaped from it. For Cora that was weather magic. Particularly storms. She had not only wanted to play by her Coven's rules while in this treaty but she also wanted to keep her skills a secret. Should things fall through with the peace talks her life would be in danger and it would be far easier to get away if they didn't know what she was capable of. It would be easier if they underestimated her.

But Cora was not going to be bitten and especially not on the first day she stepped into the mansion. She flicked her eyes closed and focused in wards. And then she called to the power coursing in her blood and she could feel it rising to the surface, crackling with energy. Her heartbeat began to rumble in her ears, a distant roll of thunder, the tempest rising from her bones. Higher and higher it came to her skin, her ears, her eyes ready to be unleashed and-

"That's enough you three. Unhand her at once."

Cora still could not move her head so she slid her eyes over to peer at Reiji who was behind Ayato. While his face still seemed to be indifferent, his eyes had taken on a new degree of sharpness to them that showed his displeasure. Kanato pouted but released her wrist, making a soft disappointed sound in the back of his throat. Laito pulled away but made sure to run his fingers through her wind tossed hair with a soft laugh.

"This isn't over, witch bitch."

Ayato turned his face back to her and drew in really close. For one fearful moment she thought he was going to try and kiss her but he stopped short. Cora felt she had spent enough time with a fearful expression in front of him. So she twisted into a look of defiance, glaring up into his green eyes.

"Don't get too comfortable." He purred, "Ore-sama is going to be the first to take your blood. To take everything."

'Like hell you will.' She thought venomously.

He let go of her then and shoved his hands in his jacket pockets, "This is boring, now. I'm done with this."

Ayato left then and as did the other two who ganged up on Cora. Laito made sure to pass her a sly wink before leaving as well. It made her feel even more grimy and she really wanted to take a long hot shower. Suspiciously she watched Kanato who stopped to stare at her, clutching his bear to his chest.

"Don't worry, Teddy." He assured his friend, "We'll get to taste her. I'll bet she tastes delicious. Just like her soft skin."

She hardened her glare and he slipped out of the room. Now she was left with Reiji and her embarrassment that she had been seen so weak. Cora should be thanking him, he saved her without her having to pull out her magic. But when she brought her dark eyes to meet his own wine colored ones, the words just would not leave her. They turned sour, bitter on her tongue and she just couldn't bring herself to be grateful. She had it under control.

'And besides, you watched and let it get to that point anyways.' She thought waspishly, 'You could have said something from the beginning and it wouldn't have got that far.'

Anger and shame brought her fists to clench tightly by her sides. She could still feel Kanato's tongue on her wrist, Laito against her back and Ayato's icy fingers on her jaw. Cora looked away, no longer able to meet his gaze. Because as angry at him as she was, there was still something about Reiji that unsettled her and she wanted to flee from his presence. Resolutely she set her jaw, inwardly scolding herself for feeling that way.

"Honestly now." He sighed, "I expected such poor manners from those three but I had higher expectations for the emissary of your kind. I suppose that was foolish of me to expect proper etiquette and manners from a witch. It is customary to thank the person who saved you."

Cora glared at him, "Why should I? It is also customary for the one responsible for the house to not let things advance that far with your guest. So I guess we are both in the wrong here."

Reiji narrowed his eyes slightly, "Careful, witch. Your political significance will only get you so far."

"And I'll carry myself the rest of the way with my own two legs." She snatched up the discarded bottle of holy water, "I'm more than capable."

"Capable? Not moments ago you were a quivering in a pathetic display." He chuckled then, "How foolish that you thought that little bottle would be enough to protect you." A cruel smirk crossed his lips, "But it was nice to see you learn your place. You are just barely above the status of a human. Treaties are not, you and your kind are still **food**. Now behave yourself and I will show you to the room you will be staying in."

' _I am not your prey…I am the storm that will tear your world apart if you cross me.'_


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: If you're curious the song Cora played on her panflute was the song The Lonely Shepherd by George Zamfir! You can find it on youtube!**

It did not come as a surprise to Cora when Reiji had a long list of rules for her to abide by while residing in their home. No messes, no loud noises, keep yourself presentable and no foul language to name a few. She was quite convinced that her very existence broke half of them. And on top of that, she was explicitly banned from burning sage within the house. Cora scowled sorting through her supplies, crinkling her nose in irritation at the thought.

'I'm sure he wants to keep me from cleansing this joint. The whole damn mansion oozes entropic, negative energy. I need a death witch to take care of this shit.'

For as long as she could remember, the Sakamakis were always handed brides for their own sick pleasure and it's disgusted Cora since she was old enough to realize just what that entailed. The witch found herself wondering just how many girls died within these halls. It made her feel off knowing that she, a young woman, was relatively safe in this house for the time being. But those girls…they came here to die. When all of this was over, that was one thing she wanted to do away with.

Cora knew that vampires had to have their food but there could have been other ways of doing that. More ethical means. And not sending off young girls who had no one to miss them to die at the hands of such cruel beasts. Lambs lead to the slaughter house. But she promised herself that the brothers would learn that she was no lamb. And she had teeth too.

'I wonder how angry they would be if I anointed random object in the house with holy water.' She wondered with a wicked smirk, 'Maybe I could even anoint someone's door knob so they'll be locked out.'

The thought brought her petty satisfaction but she dismissed the idea. As much as she hated them, she was here for the negotiations. And while she had next to no bearing on how they went positively, Cora knew that she could negatively impact the proceedings if she wasn't careful. It was far better for her to pick her battles. The witch looked outside and a wide grin split across her face. The night was filled with scattered with cirrocumulus clouds, casting a scaled appearing veil over the waxing gibbous. That meant that a storm was brewing soon.

'Reiji doesn't want me to cleanse the manor with burning sage, huh? That's fine. I'll cleanse it with the storm that I'm about to help along.'

Cora snatched up some of her blue and grey pillar candles and started shoving them into a messenger bag. She also squeezed in her bamboo rainmaker, incense, salt, spray bottle of holy water and her pan flute. She hoisted the bag up onto her shoulder, grabbed her wooden drum and left the mansion. Music was not required to work her magic, many found other ways without it. But for Cora, she found that her storm calling was always much more effective with it. It had more soul, power, heart.

A sigh escaped her when she stepped out into the balmy night air. The moon was full enough to light her way and she wandered around the grounds searching for the perfect spot to set up. She settled on this large courtyard growing beautiful white roses. There was no one else around that she could see so she set her bag to the ground and pulled out her candles and set them up in a circle on the stone. The area inside was very large, giving her plenty of room to work and as she drew a line of salt connecting the candles, Cora could feel excitement bubbling within her.

"Oi! What the hell do you think you're doing here?" snapped an angry voice from behind her.

The rosette whipped around to see a silver-haired man glaring at her. His eyes were a piercing red and they bore into her dark ones with a simmering rage. He was casually dressed, jeans a black shirt with a leather jacket over it and a key hanging around his neck. Cora wondered why he wore that but pushed down her curiosity. She didn't recognize this vampire so she knew this must have been one of the two that Reiji told her about.

" _There are two of this household that did not see fit to grace us with their presence. The oldest is Shuu and he is a useless lump that you will likely find sleeping out in the house somewhere instead of his own room. I feel like he befouls the furniture by laying on it. The youngest son is Subaru. He will likely be breaking something so do please try to encourage him to not put another hole in my walls."_

'Well,' Cora thought, 'He's not sleeping but he's not breaking anything either. But I'm going to assume that this is Subaru based on that angry glare.'

She sighed and placed her hands on her hips, "I'm the witch."

The vampire gave her a blank look, "Tch, is that supposed to mean something to me?"

"You serious? I know Reiji had to have told you about me coming."

"You think I give a shit about what that guy says? You are even more stupid than you look."

Cora glared back, "Listen fang-face, maybe no one told you, but it's pretty stupid to start insulting the witch."

"Haa?!" Subaru advanced forward, "Watch yourself, _little girl_."

She snatched up her bottle of holy water and pointed it at him, warningly, " **You** watch it. Unless you want a bath in holy water."

The vampire stopped in his tracks, eyes widening for a moment before narrowing them sharply. His lip curled in a feral snarl and he clenched his fists by his side. Cora could see the line of his shoulders shaking finely. Yeah, this definitely had to be Subaru.

"Let's get something straight for you here. You guys can't kill me. Orders straight from your father, for one."

"I don't give a shit about his orders!" Subaru roared.

"Secondly," Cora continued firmly, ignoring his outburst, "If you DO break his order and kill me you will have the entirety of a very powerful and very angry coven bearing down on you. Possibly more. Even if you haven't experienced a curse first hand, you must have heard tales about what happens when someone becomes the target of an entire coven."

"Tch…"

She relaxed then, not even realizing she that she was tense in the first place. The witch was still a bit wary but most of his anger seemed to be diverted so she slowly set down the spray bottle. Cora found herself wishing she had waited until she came up with a barrier that could repel vampires. She had heard of one but apparently it was really hard to cast.

"Now that we have that settled, you might want to go inside." She flashed him a bright smile then, "It's about to storm."

"What? You really are stupid, aren't you? There aren't any storm clouds."

Cora ignored his insult, " _Not_ _yet_."

The witch finished completing the circle with salt, expecting him to leave her alone given how averse he had been to her presence.

"Why do you have to do that shit here? Just go somewhere else!"

"A little late to do that now that I've set up everything, doncha think?" Cora asked dryly, sitting down cross-legged in the center and lighting her stick of incense, "Besides, the salt will kill the grass and nothing will grow there for years."

"Whatever, just hurry up!" He growled.

"Why?" She snapped back, pulling out her rain maker and pan flute, "You have an entire set of grounds and mansion to wander and be by yourself!"

"Because I want to be here!"

Cora made a noise of disgust, "Fine, just sit there and watch then! Just be quiet!"

Subaru grumbled under his breath but he didn't say anything else. The rosette turned back to face in front of her, pointed north and took a deep breath, closing her eyes. Slowly she let it out and took in another. Smoke from her burning incense, a fragrant ocean scent, curled upwards in a steady tendril. She felt her agitation melt away and she took another deep breath, slowly exhaling. A soft breeze filtered through the courtyard and Cora took another deep breath in.

This time she let out a long, low whistle, summoning up her magic. The wind picked up then, briskly dancing through her hair and the surrounding rose bushes. She smiled then, feeling a moment of contented bliss settle into her bones. Her magic continued to well up inside of her, eager to call its next tempest.

Cora snapped her eyes open then, brought her hands before her and snapped her fingers. The candles sparked to life in a burst of flame when she shot out her energy to the circle she had made, reinforcing it with her magic. With her circle set, she picked up her pan flute and began to play, every breath out meant to make the winds ebb and flow in the wild dance that came with a storm.

Power seeped into the stones, the candles, the air and brewed in the sky. The scattered cirrocumulus clouds swelled to bursting with rain and overshadowed the moon. The night grew darker and soon the large swollen flames of Cora's candles and the light streaming out from the mansion were the only sources of illumination in the courtyard. Subaru was still watching silently although his red eyes were no longer burning as intensely as when he first entered the courtyard. Instead he was watching with a feigned disinterest but his eyes never came off the circle.

The clouds continued to grow and swell the more Cora played her pan flute. The winds began to grow to a steady low howl but the flames of her candles would not die under the fuel of her magic. Energy channeled through the witch, crackling beneath her skin as the storm grew above her head but still no thunder, lighting or rain came. She finished her song and stood up, having completely forgotten that Subaru was there.

That is until he started laughing hysterically, "Hahahahaha! You look so ridiculous!"

Cora whipped around to glare at the vampire, "I thought I said to be quiet! And what's so damn funny!?"

Subaru snickered, "Hehehe, your hair…Hahahaha you look like you stuck your finger in a circuit outlet! You look hahaha so stupid!"

The witch shot her hands up to feel her hair as if she had never experienced it before. But it was normal after she first summoned up a storm since she would build up so much static electric energy within her. The rosette's cheeks puffed out in anger and she glowered, setting her flute down and snatched up her drum and rested it under her arm against her hip.

Cora began to beat against her drum, gradually building up in speed. The vampire was still laughing at her and she felt the electric energy grow with her anger at him. Faster and faster she beat on her drum until she slapped down her hand, channeling forth her energy into the blow. A loud crash of thunder rumbled through the courtyard and into the sky from her drum. The laughter died from Subaru's throat and his face twisted into one of surprise.

Cora smirked smugly, "Now who looks stupid?"

A flush crossed the tops of his cheeks and he growled at her, "S-shut up, little girl!"

"This little girl has a name!" she corrected sharply, "It's Cora."

"Heh. And why should I call you by anything? You're nothing but prey."

"First off, I'm not here as prey. I am here as an emissary for these peace talks. Second…" She gave him a saccharine smile then, "If you refuse to call me by my name I'll just keep calling you things like 'fang face' or 'leech' or 'mosquito'. You know…" She slapped her drum again and summoned up more thunder to tear through the air, "I think I like 'mosquito'. You also steal blood and you are annoying as hell."

Subaru snarled and stepped into her circle, smearing part of the salt ring. Cora was still beating on her drum, and backed away when he reached for her, "Hey wait don't touch-!"

Too late. The moment the vampire brushed his fingers against her arm, electricity shot out and knocked him back a few feet although he remained on standing.

"What the fuck?!" he spat.

"I tried to warn you!" Cora shot back defensively, "I have too much…built up…..Pffffffft!"

The witch fell into uncontrollable laughter after getting one look at the angry vampire. Subaru's hair was completely standing up from the electricity of touching her, resembling a silver puffy cloud. She began to snort unattractively as a blush crossed his face and he glared at her.

"Now what?!"

"N-now look-hahahaha- now look who looks ridiculous!"

"Ha?!"

Subaru shot his hands up to feel his head to find that his hair was standing on end. Cora didn't think it was possible but he flushed even redder but did not approach again, instead clenching his fists tightly. Tears were rolling down her face, gasping desperately for air.

"Hahahahaha! You look like-hahaha- an angry poofball!"

"Tch! Shut up!" he snapped, "God you piss me off!"

Cora gasped for air, finally starting to regain her composure. She wiped away the tears from her eyes and straightened, picking up her drumming again. Subaru's expression was one of sour anger and still the static had his hair standing up. The witch fell into snickers again so she turned around so she couldn't see him and went back to focusing on her thunder calls.

It didn't take long to fall back into the rhythm and she pounded on the drums, alternating between regular playing and summoning up powerful shakes of thunder. Then a flash of lightning cut across the sky from the clouds and she set her drum down outside of the circle along with her pan flute. The clouds shook with their own thunder this time and another bolt of lightning flashed across the sky.

"Are you done yet?!" Subaru demanded in a growl.

"No." Cora shot back angrily, "Now get out of my circle."

"Heh. I don't think so. I go where I want to."

"You- you are just-! UGH! Fine! Just stay out of my way!"

Cora turned her back on Subaru, an angry flush across her cheeks when she walked back to the center and moved her still burning incense off to the side of the circle. Then she picked up her rainmaker and turned it over. The sound of the small pebbles inside tinkling against the bamboo trickled up to her ears before she turned it over again. Then she began to dance.

It was not an organized, choreographed display, such a thing was not meant to work a storm. Her dance was wild, erratic, almost clumsy but it held a tremendous power like tempest brewing in the sky above them. The roses snapped around in the rising winds, a few weeping some loose white petals as if to add to her dance. Cora twirled with the rain maker, reaching up for the sky, shaking around the pebbles within the bamboo.

She let go of all the power that had welled up within her and released it into her dance, making uncoordinated pulling motions with her hands. It was as if she were trying to pull the clouds lower. And lower they did sink until at last they burst. Rain gushed down with another roll of thunder and extinguished all of her candles. The warm water soaked her hair and plastered her tank top to her skin, making her loose flowing skirt heavy with moisture. The salt lines began to lump up beneath the rain and then steadily dissolve as it continued to gush downwards.

Cora felt exhilarated as the storm howled around her. With a joyous laugh she tilted her head back and let the rain pelt her face, water rolling down her neck. But her magic wasn't over yet. She called the storm to cleanse the mansion and that was what she had to do. The witch resumed her dance, directing her motions towards the manor, channeling the energy around her. It wasn't a thing anyone could see but anyone with a decent sixth sense could feel it. Cora directed that power through the manor, chasing away the entropic energy that had built up like a cast of mold.

Lightning arced through the clouds again, flashing white light across her skin and still she danced, soaked to the brim but feeling connected to the storm that lashed at the manor. The power coursed through her and purged the mansion of the rank prickling of death that hung over the place until at last she was done. Feeling tired but elated from her ritual, Cora dropped her arms and smiled, enjoying the rain rolling over her skin in rivulets.

"You can't dance for shit." Subaru sneered.

"It wasn't meant to be organized." She told him easily, still feeling content from her ritual, "It's a storm, a choreographed dance isn't as effective. It's meant to be wild."

Thunder rumbled over head for emphasis. Cora began to gather up her candles and the rest of her supplies, shoving them back into her bag.

"You changed the energy of the house…" the vampire observed after he looked back to the mansion.

"Your damn right I did. I don't know how you all lived in that cesspool. It had so much nasty death build up from years worth of negativity and murders. Like your brides."

When Cora turned back to face Subaru, she noticed through the rain that he was smirking now and advancing towards her. She had already discharged all of the electric energy that had build up within her so now she was back to her ordinary self. And the holy water was in her bag. In a moment of panic she fumbled for it but Subaru grabbed her wrist and tugged her closer to him. Her other hand was occupied, holding up her drum so she quickly released it so she could take a swing at him.

Her speed may have been faster than a humans but it was still no match for a vampire. Cora quickly found herself with both wrists in a crushing grip and she came to the stunning realization that Subaru could easily snap the bones within easily if he wanted to. He got in her face, his eyes still holding their angry glare but his mouth was curled in a wicked smirk.

"Hehehe. That's a nice face. This side suits you better."

Cora snarled, "H-hey! Let go of me or I'm gonna blast you again!"

Subaru was not convinced, "You would have done it already."

"I'm trying to give you a chance here."

"Hehe or you don't have as much power as you say. You know I wanted to have this place to myself tonight and you ruined that. I think you owe me something…"

Unbelievable. Cora wondered if all vampires were as insufferable as Subaru was. The witch growled and squirmed in his hold but he dropped his smirk and growled, tightening his grip. Ayato, Laito and Kanato had been strong but Subaru's strength completely eclipsed theirs.

"If you don't keep still, I'll snap your wrists." He threatened lowly.

That stilled her struggles as she swallowed the lump in her throat. She was tired from her ritual so the only lightning she would be able to call down was what was in the clouds above. Would that kill him? Was she really prepared to take that risk and potentially jeopardize their peace efforts? Maybe if she played along, he would let her go?

The smirk appeared back on his face, the rain plastering his hair to his skin, "Good girl."

Cora glared at him but wisely kept still. Subaru tugged her even closer to him so she was almost pressed against his soaking form. A blush dusted her cheeks but she gritted her teeth to keep from squirming. The vampire ducked his head towards her ear and inhaled deeply, taking in her scent.

"You're showing a lot of skin, aren't you? Hmmm maybe you wanted to be bitten." He laughed softly, "Well if that's what you want, I'll give you my fangs…After all, you're prey just like the brides were…"

His hair brushed her cheek as he dropped his face down towards her neck. Oh no. Cora could feel the trap closing in. She couldn't let this happen! Throwing her coven's rules to the wind, she called to the storm brewing above her. Lightning pulled down and she channeled it through herself and straight into Subaru. In a powerful burst he was thrown off of her and sent skidding across courtyard. The force of the strike also knocked Cora off her feet and to the ground.

Her heart was hammering in her chest from how close he had been to biting her. She was beginning to wonder if there would be a day at all where one of the brothers didn't try to bite her. Deciding it was best not to still be on the ground and vulnerable, the witch scrambled to her feet and snatched up her drum and bag. But this time she fished out her holy water and kept her bag hanging on the same side she held her drum.

Subaru was furious when he rose to his feet. If it wasn't for the fact that she held her holy water in front of her in a silent promise, she was sure that he would have ripped her throat out. The idea of never leaving her room in this mansion was beginning to sound like an attractive idea. She'd have to look into that as a viable option.

"Next time it won't be a warning shot." She promised him, "Now I'm going inside so you can have your damn garden in peace."

The wind howled around them when he scoffed, "Do whatever you want, _little girl_." He then gave her an angry smirk, "Reiji is gonna be pissed."

It was Cora's turn to scoff, "Why because I blasted your ass to kingdom come? Well he can get over it because you tried to bite me."

"No you stupid girl. Because you cleansed the mansion without his permission."

For a brief moment, her heart seemed to stop beating, her mind going blank with panic. When it finally started working again she realized just what kind of trouble she was probably in. Was that in one of his rules? Cora couldn't remember because he had given so many. But she knew she did not want an angry Reiji bearing down upon her.

'Yep, that's it: I'm never leaving my room again.'


	3. Chapter 3

Subaru was right when he had told her that Reiji would not be pleased about her cleansing the mansion. But Cora did not expect for Reiji to be waiting for her as soon as she came inside, dripping and soaked to the bone with rain water. Just as he had when she first came to the mansion, he surveyed her with a cool indifference. But if she had to base by the way he looked her up and down, she would venture to guess that he did not approve of her appearance either. The witch swallowed the lump in her throat as she stared back at Reiji. She tried to comfort herself in the new lighter feeling of the mansion, tried to bask in the work she had done, tried to revel in the drastic difference but it was no use.

Reiji radiated a powerful aura of his own and it seemed to be trying to smother her. Goosebumps crawled across her skin and she was unsure if they were because of the vampire's intimidating presence or if it was cold inside of the mansion in her bedraggled state. She had to admit that it was impressive that Reiji could intimidate her without even speaking. Cora clenched her teeth to try and summon up her nerve to face him.

"Come with me. Now."

"Why?" She shot back, hoisting her bag higher on her shoulder, "I don't-"

"This is not open for discussion."

The displeased edge to his tone made Cora bite back her words of protest. She got the feeling that Reiji would be one of the worst ones to receive punishment from and she wasn't sure just how far her political position would carry her. Deciding that it was best not to push her luck, she did as he instructed.

His study was even more organized than she had initially anticipated. There wasn't even a stray paper anywhere. The book shelves were tidy and completely free of dust and they had been clearly organized by topic. And from what she could tell at a glance, those topics were then put into alphabetical order. Cora turned her dark eyes to examine his laboratory equipment. Beakers, Bunsen burners, hot plates and a manner of tinctures and potions were arranged in a very orderly fashion although she could not tell the particular order. But they had been clearly arranged to a particular placement, of that she had no doubt.

"Have a seat." He instructed her coolly.

Reiji barking orders at her really rubbed her the wrong way, chapped her pride but the witch knew that she would not win here. She moved to do so silently but then she halted, realizing just how quickly and easily he was able to gain her obedience. He couldn't hurt her so what was he going to do? Tell the Elder "she didn't sit down when I told her to"? Cora folded her arms and gave Reiji's back a terse glare.

"I'd rather stand, thank you."

"Despicable manners until the end, I see. Don't you know it is common courtesy to take a seat when your host offers it?"

"I would also say that it is common courtesy for said host to be respectful the guest's customs and beliefs but that didn't stop you from sitting back and watching while your brothers jumped me upon arrival and threatened to bite me."

"And you will recall that I did stop them and you have not been pierced by any fang." Reiji told her coldly, his hands deftly pulling together his tea pot set.

Cora didn't understand why he was brewing tea at that moment of all times but she didn't care overly much, "Only after you stood back and let them grab me and do what they wanted. You could have stopped it well before it got that far but you didn't. Not very courteous of my host."

The witch could tell she was treading on thin ice. Reiji himself seemed to putting out his own thunderous aura but it did not feel like a storm. Storms were wild, chaotic and ripped apart everything that came in their path but Reiji was much more precise than that. Cora bit her lower lip to keep anymore words from spilling out of her mouth because the vampire before her was radiating a murderous intent. Political protection or not, she knew she was about to get herself into some serious trouble if she did not stop while she was ahead.

"Ms. Fuller, I am not responsible for your own knowledge of our ways. Had you done the proper research and reading, you would realize that I actually broke customs to stop them. It is common practice and expectation for any guest in a vampire estate to be under their charge. So propriety in our ways states that you fall under one of us. A claim upon you, if you will, while you remain with us." Reiji informed her with disdain, having a seat in one of his plush red velvet armchairs as he left the kettle to heat, "It is utterly disgraceful that you, an emissary for your coven, is not educated on our practices. Now, _sit down_. I will not ask you again."

Cora clenched her jaw to fight off the shudder that rolled down her spine with his icy order, "No."

A horrible smile crossed his face then, "Very well, then. You still deny my hospitality? As an emissary of this treaty, you no doubt are aware that you represent your entire coven. Given your present behavior, I will have to consider approaching our father, Karl Heinz, and urge him to reconsider this treaty. You speak for all of your coven, after all. And you have demonstrated that even the smallest gesture of decorum and compromise is not attainable. I would rather that we not waste our time."

All of the color drained out of her face then. He wouldn't, would he? Casting her dark eyes to him, there was not a hint of bluff within his expression. If anything a sinister glint reflected in his eyes and the slightest curve of his mouth hinted at his satisfaction at backing her into this corner. Cora could not risk him doing this, so with her heart feeling frozen with fear, she took a seat without another word.

"Good. Now we can discuss what you did to the mansion."Cora opened her mouth to speak but Reiji cut her off, "I have not given you leave to speak yet. Hold your tongue."

Hot fury coursed through her and she found herself having to bite the inside of her cheek to keep her words to herself. The treatment she was receiving was horrendous and it infuriated her. When she volunteered for the position, she never expected it to be like this. Cora told herself that maybe she was dumb to think that it wouldn't be this way but even as an emissary they treated her like she was beneath them! Her! A witch!

'If this negotiation falls apart…' she thought at Reiji with venomous promise, 'you will be the first one I curse.'

"I am aware of some of the crude customs you have within your own coven but it is grossly rude to alter the house of your host. Without any sanction but your own whims, you changed the energy of this estate when I banned you from doing so."

Cora wanted to argue, point out that he only banned her from burning sage but Reiji gave her a severe look that kept her voice silent.

"Surely even you can see how rude it is for you to change someone else's home to suit your needs. You may speak now." Continued the vampire, folding his hands ontop of his lap, one leg crossed over the other.

Well, when he put it that way, Cora found it hard to argue, so she cleared her throat, "To be fair, you banned burning sage, not cleansing itself. I assumed that the smell of the herb offended you so I opted for something other than smoke cleansing." She lied, knowing that he really didn't want her to cleanse the place, "But…you're right. The place reeked of death and a heavy, oppressive energy so I assumed… well, I am sorry that I changed the energy of your home without permission."

Already she felt her nerves being rubbed raw from putting on an air of diplomacy. There had been better options for this sort of work within her coven but not a one of them volunteered for the position. Speaking through such lies and in such a way that felt simpering and like she was kissing his ass made her feel gross. She wanted to speak plainly but this interaction alone told her that speaking her mind would get her and her people in more trouble. Cora took a deep breath and reminded herself that she wasn't doing this for herself but for her coven.

"Please accept my sincere apology."

The teapot over in the corner began to whistle, interrupting the silence that had fallen between them. Cora found it interesting that Reiji had set up his own station to make his tea within his study but given that it looked like he did his own experiments and concoctions it did make sense. When she was studying her own magic and working on new rituals she didn't want to leave her room either. He rose from his seat silently and approached the kettle, carefully pulling out two cups before they disappeared from view in front of him.

Cora didn't get to get a close look at them before his frame blocked her sight but from what she could see, they were clearly exquisite pieces and finely made. The aromatic fragrance of Earl Grey wafted up to her nose and it made her feel homesick. She remembered spending time in the sun room with the tea leaf readers, hot tea steaming from their mugs as they focused on her. They always gave her a cup of tea of her own to enjoy while they focused on their divination. Cora couldn't help but wonder what they were doing now. In the courtyard, the witchlings would be practicing, trying to find their particular blood born talent. In the temple there would be meditation with burning sticks of incense. By the river, the fledgling water practitioners would work with the current and at night some of her people would lay out beneath the stars and practice astral travel.

Reiji startled her out of her thoughts by placing a cup of tea in front of her and taking a seat of his own across from her, sipping of his own cup. This was something that she did not need to be pushed into doing. The smell of Earl Grey reminded her of home and the idea of enjoying the hot tea settled her sour mood. Carefully she picked up the cup from its plate, noting the fine detail work in delicate cold along the rim.

"Thank you." She told him quietly before taking a drink.

He nodded coolly, "And your apology is accepted."

She was as surprised by his acceptance of her apology as she was at the perfection of his brew. The tea witches from her home were some of the best at brewing and it came as no surprise given their practice of divining from the leaves. But Reiji easily bested most of them in this one cup of perfectly steeped Earl Grey. Cora stared at the beverage as if in disbelief that it was really in her hand before looking back up to Reiji.

"This tea is perfectly brewed…!"

"Of course it is. Would you expect me to produce anything less? It is a simple enough matter to make the perfect cup."

Cora felt a faint ringing in her right there and she rubbed at it to ease the discomfort, "Simple? I doubt that. Doesn't the temperature of the water and length of brew time vary depending on the type of leaf used?"

"Indeed, but it is simple to remember that. I must say I am surprised that you even knew that much. I suppose no one can be completely hopeless. Not even you."

Cora had thought for just a moment they were going to have a civilized conversation but after his insult, she realized that it was foolish for her to hope for that. The witch glared at him silently over her tea, using the full bodied Earl Grey to curb her brewing words forming on her tongue. It was either that or she bite her tongue but she was quite certain she would make herself bleed if she did that with how much she wanted to cuss at him. Much to her annoyance, the ringing in her ears started up again but with more persistence. Cora lightly shook her head but it only made it worse. The ringing seemed to be drilling into her skull, cutting straight into her. The sensation was so intense and painful, she dropped the cup of hot Earl Grey into her lap and clutched at her ears.

The hot tea soaked through her clothes burned at her skin, much like overheated bath water. What was happening? This wasn't normal! The vampire across from her took one more easy sip of his own hot tea before rising and walking over to his desk. Her dark eyes tracked him through her intense discomfort and watch as he opened a book, a journal of some sorts, and write down a few notes on its pages.

"That was faster than I expected." He observed.

"What did you do to me?!" Cora demanded, pressing her hands even harder against her ears as the ringing grew louder.

The sensation could almost be called painful and yet it was nothing more than a persistent ringing in her ears. But it was strong enough to make her want to pull her brain out of her head. Her dark eyes pricked with tears and she ground her teeth against the sensation. It felt like her brain was being pierced and so deeply that it made her feel weak.

"Consider it your punishment. Hopefully, you'll think twice before altering this house."

"You bastard! This is a violation of our trust and treaties!"

"Oh not at all. See I have not physically harmed you and that potion will not cause you any damage. In fact it will fade within a few days."

"A few DAYS?!"

Reiji narrowed his eyes to dangerous slits down at Cora, "Mind your tone. It is grossly unlady like to raise your voice."

The ringing seemed to fall into a rhythmic drone and every pulse felt like it was rocking her brain. The sensation made her squirm within the cushioned chair, the tea cup rolling around in her lap precariously. Cora squinted her eyes shut against the sensation, grinding her teeth. She couldn't imagine withstanding this for five more minutes let alone a few days! A whimper escaped her when there was a sharp stab like sensation to her ears and the world around her began to rock unsteadily.

" _ **My**_ behavior is a problem?! You fucking drugged me! That is- agh!"

She had tried to rise to her feet in her rage and intense discomfort but the ringing in her ears swiftly rebuked that effort with sharp stabs. The tea cup that had been in her lap fell to the floor and shattered upon impact, scattering the jagged shards across the wooden floor. Under normal circumstances, Cora would feel bad for breaking someone's things, even Reiji's. But she was in far too much pain and discomfort to feel badly about it. An intense wave of nausea washed over her and she felt dizzy. Unable to maintain her balance, she slumped to the floor on her knees, still clutching her hands over her ears.

"My, my and you have soaked my chair in your bedraggled state. Not only did you have the nerve to do as you pleased but you also ruined the furniture." Reiji clucked his tongue in disapproval.

"You _told_ me to sit down!" Cora exclaimed in disbelief.

"And you speak out of turn as well. Truly you are a vulgar young woman. I suppose I should have known better than to have expectations for a witch." Reiji took his seat again, crossing his legs as he looked down at the rosette before him, "But I am not an unreasonable man…if you beg me for forgiveness for your transgressions, I might give you the antidote to what I put in your tea."

"I will never-!" Cora's sentence was cut off with a powerful gag that took hold of her throat, her nausea only growing and the ringing in her ears growing worse.

"In truth, the effects may last longer than a few days." He told her with a light chuckle, "This is the first chance I've had to test it so I am only speculating. It is already proving to be stronger than I had intended so the effects could last longer as well."

The dizziness was getting worse and Cora was forced to release her ears to plant her palms down against the wooden floor to keep herself stabilized. She gagged again as her stomach heaved under the duress of the intense dizziness. He wouldn't truly make her wait that long, would he? She had enough strength in her to lift her head and look up at the bespectacled vampire through her hair. He absolutely would. The smirk that he held was a cruel one and he clearly was enjoying her suffering. Her nausea forced her to have to tear her gaze away and look pointedly at the floor again. If Cora could make it back to her room, she would have just laid in bed until it went away, probably listen to music as well to drown out the ringing. But she couldn't even look up without feeling ill, there was no way she'd make it to her room.

And she sure as hell couldn't risk one of the other vampires finding her trying to crawl back to the safety of her room. Cora swallowed hard to both prevent herself from being ill but also to work up her courage. She knew that she had no other choice. A shudder raced through her as she fought off another wall of nausea, clenching her hands tightly into fists. A few tears fell from her when her ears encountered another distinct stabbing sensation.

"Please…Please, Reiji…Forgive me." She ground out through her teeth.

"Reiji- _sama_." He corrected sharply.

'Oh hell no! He can't seriously expect me to call him that!' she thought with rage.

Cora was going to curse at him, tell him to shove his "sama" where the sun doesn't shine but it caught in her throat with another pulse in her ears. Her fingers clenched even tighter as if she were trying to physically hold onto her pride. But she realized that pride would get her nowhere at the moment. Hot tears swam in her eyes and she forcefully made herself let go of her pride.

"Reiji-sama," she begged, "Please forgive me."

Reiji made a noise of disapproval, "Really? Is that all you can muster? I will not be moved by such a weak attempt.

A broken sob caught in the back of her throat, "Please. Please, please! Reiji-sama, forgive me! I'm sorry!"

"Sorry for what?"

To her shame, she was crying now from her pain, her discomfort and her shattered pride, "I'm sorry for cleansing the house without asking."

"And?"

"…And for ruining your chair."

Reiji deliberated for a few moments before chuckling and rising from his seat. Cora did not look up, her shame kept her head down and she feared lifting her head would make her vomit. She could hear his even footsteps across his study, heard the delicate clink of a vial against another set of glass. The familiar sound of a cork being pulled out reached her ears before more footsteps. A gloved hand then took her chin and tilted her head upwards.

"I suppose that will do. Now open your mouth."

Cora obeyed without hesitation, ready for her torment to end. The liquid he poured between her parted lips was bitter and ice cold but she swallowed it all the same. Reiji did not release her chin, however and regarded her with his ruby eyes with a critical gaze.

"A pitiful state you are in. You look like a drowned rat. This is not fitting for a lady and it would seem that your kind did not give you proper instruction on how to behave like one."

The witch managed to pull her chin free from his grasp when the effects of his drug began to fade.

"Tch. Rebellious even now? Since your kind neglected to instruct you on how to be a lady, I suppose that responsibility will fall on me."

Cora was able to climb to her feet since the ringing in her ears was almost gone and the dizziness had faded, "You have no responsibility and there is no need. I don't want you anywhere near me."

Reiji smirked down at her, "Oh but I do. What of the upcoming dances? The treaty envoys? In vampire society, the diplomat will be the one who receives the terms and negotiates with us. You will be the main one navigating these politics."

Her face paled for the second time that night as the storm continued to rage outside. When she volunteered for this position, she had thought that she would be like insurance to keep her coven from acting out. That was the impression they gave her. She had no idea that she would be the one do handle this level of negotiation and politics. Cora felt terrified that now she knew her words were going to be what could make or break her people. Dances? Treaty envoys? How could she possibly handle all of this?

"As I suspected. They did not inform you properly of your position."

"No…No they did not…" Rage snapped behind her dark eyes before she looked back up to Reiji, "If you'll excuse me, I have a few choice words for some of the Masters of my coven."

"Not just yet." Reiji interrupted, "Whether you like it or not, you now will be a reflection upon my family as well. First thing in the evenings you will be instructed on proper dance."

"And who says that I can't properly dance?" He stared at her flatly, "Ok, fine, whatever! We'll talk about this tomorrow."

Cora stormed out of his study, not once looking back. If what he said was true then she would grudgingly submit to training in proper behavior. But she first had to have a talk with the Elder… She hoped that Reiji was lying but she knew within her bones that he wasn't.


	4. Chapter 4

A few years ago, Cora had been in a relationship with a powerful battle mage who possessed such a raw power that it was like the thunder crafted into physical form. It had been a thrilling period of her life and a great relationship but their lifestyles kept them so busy that it had resulted in a mutual break up. Somedays, Cora missed Amane terribly. And while she was a walking tempest of rage, ready to shake the world of the Sages, seeing her ex girlfriend waiting outside the temple soothed some of that anger and made her long to embrace her.

Amane was a stunning young woman and Cora thought she could be described as Amazonian. Dark skin and all. It was evident that she was a powerful woman and had experience in combat for not only was she tall but her muscles were well defined and strong. Cora used to watch Amane train for missions when they were still dating and she always thought that her movements were as fluid as water. When her ex girlfriend saw her, a large smile beamed across her face, warm mahogany eyes lighting up with delight.

"You know I used to love it whenever you looked this angry with me Storm Song." Amane smirked, "It usually meant that I could get you to have a fun time with me."

Cora scowled at the dark-haired battle witch but it was not an irritation directed specifically at her. Amane had always had a smart mouth that was part of her charm. No, despite the pleasant surprise of seeing her friend and previous lover again, Cora was still quite angry. The amused expression slipped off of her face and was replaced by a serious one.

"I know that look. I swear you could scare off a hurricane with those eyes. What happened?"

A tight smile crossed Cora's lips, "Let's just say that the Sages did not inform me properly of what I would be getting into by agreeing to stay with the Sakamaki's."

Amane's worried brows knitted deeper together until she appeared just as angry as the Storm Witch, "They did WHAT now?"

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure it was intentional too. So I know you are supposed to be guarding this and all but do you think-"

"Say no more." The taller woman moved to the side and then winked, "I'll just tell them you used your wily charms on poor, defenseless, ole me."

"Are you sure? This could get you in trouble. They might keep you tethered to the temples for weeks before letting you back into the field."

She shrugged dismissively, "I know it will. Trust me, no one is going to believe you managed to take advantage of me when half of the coven knows that it was I throwing you down on the bed and you loved every minute of it." Amane's grin could be described as wolfish, "This is basically my way of passive aggressively telling them to fuck off and what they did to you was not ok."

The pinkette flushed in embarrassment, "Wait…are you serious? Does half of the coven really know about that?"

"No."

Cora sighed in relief.

"I was down playing it for your sake. I'm pretty sure everyone knows. Three quarters of them if you are being optimistic."

The flush returned with a vengeance to Cora's cheeks and she buried her face in her hands. Amane smirked and leaned in really close to the storm witch so that she was only a few inches away. A soft chuckle rumbled in the back of her throat and she pushed a lock of Cora's hair behind her ear.

"Mmm, don't look like that. Keep that up and you WON'T make it in to see the Sages."

"Amane! Ugh, you are impossible!"

The grin that the dark-haired woman gave was impish but she backed up and gave a grand gesture towards the door way, "Part of my charm. Now go give them hell."

Cora took a deep breath, staring down the hallway between the marble columns that lead towards the sanctum. It was hard for her to rekindle her anger after sharing some camaraderie with her old lover and friend. Her righteous anger had suspended her resolve into the skies, ready to face down the most powerful of catastrophes. But her moment with Amane had deflated that anger which gave her strength and she was left with herself to face down the most powerful members of her coven.

The marble pillars were hauntingly silent, but they carried the sound of each of her steps with her as she steadily walked towards the sanctum. The air seemed to change once she stepped inside. Each Sage was seated upon a finely crafted chair, crafted from different stones. They were all here, which is what she wanted but she was surprised about one thing: Their Elder, head of the coven, was seated in the counsel.

And just like that all of her rage rekindled within her, "Good morning."

Her words were terse and shortly spoken. Tradition dictated that the Sages and Elder received a proper, respectful greeting, acknowledging their status. ESPECIALLY the Elder. But Cora felt that their recent deception had cost them her respect. Witches were supposed to look out for each other, it was basically their code, especially when it came to vampires. The rosette put out a thunderous aura to further show how angry she was with them.

They had clearly been in some sort of meeting and it gave her some petty satisfaction that she had barged in during their important talks. But the Sages were not as pleased and the Elder had a stern but exasperated expression on his face. Proudly, Cora lifted her chin and glared them down, ready to have some choice words for all of them.

The counsel erupted into protests and angry shouts but Cora stood her ground. She knew that this would be stirring the cauldron but she was going to get their attention. And they were definitely going to hear her. When the Sages did not calm down the Elder decided it was time to step in.

"Sages! Let Cora speak."

"Please do." Drawled Akira, the Sage of the Battle Mages, he propped his chin up on his palm, "I am interested in hearing why you have acted like a petulant child."

The witch narrowed her dark eyes at the Sage. For as long as she could remember, Cora never liked Akira. To her he held this insufferable attitude that smacked of superiority complex. At first she had thought it to be an attitude he only showed to fledgling witches but as time carried on she noticed that it extended to many people beyond the lower ranks. For one to earn respect from Akira, you had to pry it from his boorishly strong fingers.

"A petulant child…" she repeated slowly, "Fuck you, Akira."

"Have a care, witchling!" snapped another Sage, "Because you are acting as the emissary for the Sakamaki's it grants you some protection but you are not above receiving punishments for disrespect!"

Cora squared her jaw, "The Sakamaki arrangement is exactly why I'm here. You all are such pieces of SHIT!"

"You little brat!"

"Sit your ass down!" the storm witch snarled, "I am not finished speaking. You want to call me disrespectful? Fine. But you all take the cake for sending me into a den of vampires and not telling me exactly what all that would entail."

Akira's lip curled in disdain, "They are vampires. Don't tell me you expected a red carpet welcome."

"For once in your life, Akira, shut the fuck up. I'm sick of your demeaning attitude. You may have been one of the youngest people known to be promoted to your position but you need to pull your head out of your ass."

It was true that he was young. Most of the Sages were well into their forties and fifties but Akira was barely a few years older than her age of twenty-one. Cora could remember the days where he had been just a witch like everyone else but even then he had an insufferable attitude. Akira rose from his seat then, a hot fury burning around him. He was a powerful looking figure, a tall and strong body from training and fighting alongside the Battle Mages. His hair was long, black as night and was a stark contrast to his icy blue eyes. Blue eyes that were now venomously glaring at Cora.

"You are an insolent little-"

"Enough!" Interrupted the Elder, "Both of you are out of line. Akira, sit down."

A muscle twitched in his jaw at the order as he held back all of the words he wanted to spout at Cora but then he took a deep breath and sat down. He cleared his throat and recomposed himself, lifting his chin to place himself above her.

"Of course, Elder. I apologize."

His display disgusted her. If she believed that he was sincere in his apology then she would not be irritated with it. As it stood, Cora did not believe that his statement was one made out of sincerity but necessity. Her expression soured. Whatever the Elder wanted, she was not going to apologize, none of them deserved it.

"Now, Cora, what is the meaning of your interruption. And watch your language."

'Fuck off.' She thought venomously.

She took a deep breath to calm down the words simmering at the back of her throat. While she had every right to be angry, she knew that cussing out the entire counsel and not even give a reason WHY they were shit would not help her. The rosette squared her shoulders and stared them all down with an unwavering glare.

"I am very curious to know why not a single one of you informed me that I would be **a diplomatic emissary and making weighted political decisions when I was sent to the Sakamaki's**." Everyone of them visibly stiffened, "Or better yet, that I would be expected to practically be a _**possession**_ of one of those leeches for these negotiations."

It was bad enough that she had been sent into the Sakamaki manor without being told of her role as a diplomat, it was even worse that she was basically expected to become vampire bait for this arrangement and they did not tell her. They would let her be defiled, throw her in to wolves den and with nothing to defend herself. What was interesting to her was that Akira seemed to be…surprised. As if it was the first time he was hearing this information. Cora raised a brow at this.

"Elder, what is the meaning of this?" Akira nearly demanded.

She may not have liked him but this caused her to respect him a bit more than when she walked into the sanctum. Hearing Akira's ignorance on the decision lessened her feeling of betrayal. At least one of them had not been involved and was clearly not pleased. But Cora was still rightfully angry and folded her arms beneath her chest and glared.

"Yes." She drawled out in acidic sarcasm, "What IS the meaning of this?"

The elder, a man reaching his mid fifties, straightened and gave a heavy sigh, "I apologize, Cora. We did withhold that information from you."

"No shit."

He carried on as if she hadn't spoken, "What we did was wrong but something, aside from Akira who had not been present, we decided was necessary."

"Necessary?!" Cora nearly shrieked, "You already had me as a volunteer!"

"And we were not sure you would remain if you knew everything about what you were walking into. It had been hard enough to get any volunteers when there was limited information about it. We feared that once you knew…you would have backed out."

"With all due respect, Elder, what would it have mattered? Our position in our conflict may not be the best but we could have held out long enough to find someone to be a volunteer." she asked.

Silence rang through the room like a gunshot. In that tense moment, Cora felt her anger start to wither. She had never seen the Sages or the Elder look so serious. Had something happened? It was then that Sage Megumi spoke up. She was a matronly figure and Cora had always liked her but sometimes she was uncomfortable to be around. Any witch could go into divination and fortune telling with the right amount of work but Sage Megumi went far beyond just the level of a master. She was so gifted that sometimes just by looking at someone she could read their fortune. Beyond that, she was capable of exploring and seeing all the possible paths of the future should the sight remain clear.

"It is no longer so simple. I had a vision…" She told them, steepling her fingers, "If we do not make an alliance soon…The Court of Oak and Ash will be no more. The vampires are not the only threat we face and if we do not forge an alliance with them soon, we will meet our end. I have seen a civil war amongst our ranks, the vampires taking us all by force, another clan over throwing us, demons rising up and slaughtering our young. I have seen our people murdered, defiled and escorted away in chains. And the only way to avoid our demise is through that alliance."

Cora's heart squeezed in fear in her chest. Her home would be…? Akira swallowed a bit forcefully but remained coolly composed. What they had done was wrong but after hearing this prophecy hang over the room in a blanketed hush, the storm witch suddenly understood why they had with held that information from her.

She ran her fingers through her dusky rose hair, "Don't worry, I'm not backing out. I said I would help and I meant it."

The Sages all seemed to sigh in relief.

"But you will keep me INFORMED from now on. I don't care what it is. If I find out that you guys withheld information from me like that again you will LOSE your emissary. I don't care if you even brand me a traitor to the coven for it, I will go off on my own if that's how you will be. I'm not joking, keep me in the loop."

The elder nodded, his familiar dark eyes softening as he looked down at her, "I promise we will. I am sorry you have to be in this position. These negotiations will be difficult and you must conduct yourself in a delicate balance. You cannot be soft and pliable or you will be completely taken control of and manipulated. But you cannot be unyielding either. Unpleasant compromises will have to be made for both parties. Above all, you cannot let them know that we are desperate. Do so and all hope for an alliance will fail because then it will become nothing short of ownership over us."

"And Cora…" Megumi spoke, "You must be careful for yourself. Unfortunately due to the nature of your natural magic, it can be hard to see clearly the possible fates that you can meet. And overall there is a lot of magic at work here, outside forces are already starting to move. But I can give you a warning from what little I could see. There are snakes around you in places that you would least expect. Nothing will be as it seems in that house and you walk on the edge of a knife. Above all else…be careful who gets your blood for that is one thing you cannot avoid so wrapped up in vampires. If the wrong vampires get a taste of you…they will tear you apart fighting over you."

Cora shuddered and couldn't help but think of a pack of wild dogs pulling and tearing at the last piece of meat. That was not a position she wanted to be in. But Megumi had always said to her growing up that storm users had the biggest tendency to defy their fate. She resolved herself to make it through this without giving up her blood. Without being bitten.

"Question: why couldn't a Sage be a diplomat for the negotiations?" Cora asked, burying her hands in her pockets.

"Because when I looked ahead, all of the outcomes were poor. Too many know of who we are and that would be used against us. Some, even outside of the vampires, would seek to use us as hostages and the negotiations all failed. It has to be a regular witch with no special rank to maintain the anonymity."

"…I understand. I'll do my best."

"Thank you for your sacrifice. I'm sorry things couldn't be different." The Elder told her, "But I am so proud of you."

"Thanks…Dad."

Xxxx

Cora felt like she was walking back into a jail cell when she returned to the mansion. As large as the place was, it did not comfort her to know that she was prey. Even as a diplomatic emissary she was barely more than food to them. To some of the brothers she was ONLY food. And after hearing Megumi's prophecy, she was more stressed than her first day of knowing she was walking into a den of six predators.

'Only the fate of the entire coven rests on my shoulders. No pressure.' She thought dryly.

Exhaustion clung to her like a second skin from the weight of what was expected of her. And the mirror travel didn't help either. Cora wanted to collapse into bed and blow Reiji off later that night but the powerful rumbling in her stomach stopped her. Mirror travel was helpful but she always felt ravenous afterwards. That motivated her to leave her room and go down to the kitchen. She entertained cooking herself a nice meal but decided that the noise and the smell would draw in some unwelcome visitors.

Cora managed to find some carved chicken, cheese and bread and she decided that would be perfect. She was so hungry she ate two sandwiches before she finally felt the fine shaking of her limbs settle. She washed it all down with a tall glass of water and sighed in relief, leaning against the kitchen counter. Physically she felt better but mentally she still felt weakened. Never had she imagined that she would have become responsible for the coven's fate when she volunteered to come to the mansion.

With the stress weighing down on her, Cora found herself peering into the freezer. She was absolutely the type to eat desserts when she was feeling upset or stressed, especially mint chocolate chip ice cream. She had noticed in the fridge itself there had been some confections but none struck her fancy. However she was surprised to see that the freezer was filled with an array of sweets and ice creams. In fact she found herself overwhelmed from the sheer amount of choices she had from.

That was when she heard it.

A distant whispering floated forward to reach her ears. The words were indistinct but the familiarity struck her hard. That was definitely the spirit that was attached to Kanato's doll, which meant he was not far behind. Cora snapped the freezer shut, deciding dessert was not that damn important. She needed to leave.

"You were right, Teddy. She **was** in the kitchen!"

'Shit.' She thought, freezing when she heard his voice behind her.

The whispering had definitely grown louder but she still could not understand the words. Either way, she was not comforted by the thought that this spirit was helping Kanato find her. Clearing her throat, Cora turned to face the vampire so her back would no longer be to him. He was smiling in an almost tender expression towards the stuffed bear he cradled and for some reason, she found this gentle smile to be more unsettling than the unhinged, crazed look he had given her on her first night there.

"I was just leaving." She said briskly.

There was a problem with her plan to leave, however. Kanato was standing in the only door way out of the kitchen. His violet eyes, narrowed, a dark haze crawling over them at her words. The smile dropped from his face and was replaced with a frown. His facial expression seemed to steadily darken and he clutched Teddy tighter to him.

"You're just going to leave?" He asked in a lower voice, "After I went through the trouble of looking for you?"

Cora did not like how his voice dropped lower as he went on speaking. Her spine went rigid, tension tightening into her neck and shoulders as she could see the anger, the rage simmering in his eyes. Higher and higher she could feel his temper rise until it felt ready to burst. She braced herself for the incoming outburst. The tension oozed into the air, every quiet pop and creak of the house magnified in the uncomfortable silence as she waited for Kanato to do something. She was certain some sort of act of rage was coming her way.

But it didn't.

Instead, Kanato gave her a thin smile, "You are awfully self centered, aren't you? I guess I can't really be surprised. You are a witch after all."

Cora tensed as he drew himself even further into the kitchen. Towards her. It was then that she realized with horror that she did not have her bottle of holy water with her. Somehow the fact that he didn't start yelling at her made everything feel that much more unnerving. There had been a few nights where she heard Kanato throwing tantrums with his brothers even up in her room so to find that it was not a predictable outcome was more disturbing to her.

Something about his eyes almost seemed dead…but they still sparked with an unnerving delight at her discomfort. Cora inched backwards but that only made Kanato move even faster. A smirk curled at the corners of his mouth, spreading wider across his face. It almost made her think of a crack across a smooth porcelain surface, creeping and jagged. She blinked and suddenly Kanato was right infront of her. She let out a strangled scream and leapt backwards but the vampire seized her wrist in a bruising grip and hauled her back.

He was nose to nose with her, staring deep into her eyes. Something about them made her freeze as she stared deep into their depths. Was he going to bite her? Hurt her? Kill her? They weren't suppose to kill her but Kanato seemed unstable enough to not listen to orders and reason if he flew off the handle. Those purple eyes of his softened to a faux gentle gaze and he released her wrist.

"Hmmm, you may not be much to look at," he tilted his head to the side and ran his now free hand through her long dusky rose hair, "But you have such lovely hair. I suppose you wouldn't make that bad of a doll."

Cora tried to pull away but the hand drifting through her long tresses suddenly fisted harshly and hauled her back again. She cried out in pain as it tugged sharply at her scalp.

"Be still now." Kanato told her sweetly, "or I'll rip it out."

Should she curse him? He wasn't threatening her life…yet. Her eyes watered but she did not let herself cry. Crying would only bring him satisfaction so she forced herself to relax. When he had grabbed her hair she had gripped his wrist in a weak attempt to stop him but it did nothing. So she released her grip on him and could only hope that he would do the same for her. It was alarming for him to be this close to her and she was certain he could hear her fluttering hearbeat.

Slowly, the grip on her hair lessened until those icy fingers were drifting through it. The fact that he wasn't hurting her or actively trying to bite her should have been more of a comfort. But this sort of gesture and behavior made her feel even more uncomfortable. Cora was not a fan of not being able to get an idea of how someone was going to act and Kanato took that to the extreme. He drew a lock of her hair forward and rubbed it between his fingers while she stood stock still. She felt like the slightest twitch could have set him off.

'This guy is nuts. Batshit crazy! And he's talking about me being a doll?!'

Cora did not like the thought of being a doll and she had a sneaking suspicion that there was a lot more to it for him than playing dress up. Kanato seemed content to toy with her hair for a few more moments before his eyes suddenly snapped up to hers, narrowed.

'Oh shit, what did I do?'

"I know I can't have high expectations for you because you're a witch…but even a witch can't be this selfish. Why haven't you asked about me? You hate me, don't you?"

Cora couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her voice was frozen, locked into her throat as she tried to wrap her mind around the complete 180 he just did in personality for seemingly no reason at all. She didn't even get the chance to recover because her brief silence was enough of an answer for Kanato. Once again Cora expected him to scream, to shake her but she was shocked to see his eyes start to water. And then he started to cry.

'What the fuck is even…?'

"You DO hate me! And after I went through all this trouble of finding you too." He sniffled then, "What did I ever do to her, Teddy?"

'You mean besides trying to bite me and threatening to kill me on the first day I arrived here?' she thought dryly.

"I don't hate-"

"DON'T LIE TO ME!" Kanato exploded, grabbing a hold of her arm tightly.

Cora knew that he was unstable, knew that a temper tantrum could emerge at any time with him but it still took her off guard. Kanato was in her face, weeping eyes glaring enraged at her. The witch didn't understand why he flew off the handle and understood even less why it was so important to him that she not hate him. Vampires and witches were not friends and these peace talks were a tentative way to stop all of the fighting and death so why did it matter to him?

He shook her violently, "ANYTHING THAT COMES OUT OF YOUR MOUTH IS A FILTHY LIE!"

"Stop it or I'm going to curse you!" she shouted back, prying at his fingers.

An explosion of pain blossomed on the side of her head, right on the sensitive flesh of her temple. Cora staggered backwards, dazed and slumped against the cold tile of the counter. Her vision rocked back and forth, blurring at the edges as she barely clung to consciousness. She could see nothing, other than that infernal possessed bear, in his hands. He must have hit her with his fist, she realized.

"How dare you…!" he murmured in a soft, enraged voice, "HOW DARE YOU THREATEN ME! YOU ARE NOTHING! JUST A STUPID LITTLE WITCH WHO DOESN'T KNOW HER PLACE!"

Cora couldn't talk, could barely think and could only watch as Kanato breathed heavily, glaring at her weakened form. Everything fell quiet for a moment and then he seemed to collect himself. The vampire advanced forward and slipped an arm around her waist and brought her against him.

"I'll have to teach you your place." He threatened her in a low, terrifying voice.

There was an abrupt jerk across her whole body and suddenly the two of them were outside. The witch was weakly squirming in his grasp but the world was still rocking, still blurry at the edges as she tried to recover from his blow. Dazedly, she realized that things looked more hazy than earlier because there was a layer of fog. It was warm too, so warm that she almost let herself slip into a state of comfort. He released her and she stumbled back until she tumbled and fell into the dirt. There was the odd sound of stone grinding and she struggled to sit up to look around.

Upon closer inspection, Cora realized that Kanato had brought her to a cemetery. Why this place even had one, she didn't know. Why he had even bothered to bring her here confused her even more. That is until she laid eyes on an open stone casket. Her heart bottomed out when she realized what Kanato was going to do. She was still too dizzy to stand but desperation made her resort to crawling, not caring how undignified it was. But he would have none of that. A strong hand wrapped around her ankle and dragged her back towards him, dirt smearing her skin and clothes.

She was tossed unceremoniously into the casket. While there was not a skeleton within it, there was still remnants of old bones that had yet to decay away from the passage of time. It was a musky smell that overwhelmed her senses and she felt the dirty old cloth bed press into her. A blurry sight of Kanato loomed over her, a mad smile spread across his face.

"Maybe I'll come back and let you out if you scream loud enough. Maybe." He laughed then and started sliding the lid back over her. Panic gripped her and she clawed at the heavy stone, trying to stop him from closing her in, "Stop fighting it or I'll crush your fingers with this lid. After all, you are still so fragile, even if you aren't human."

Still Cora fought, she struggled until she was forced to yank her hands back to prevent them from being crushed by the lid. Then she was plunged into darkness, the muffled laughter of Kanato ringing in her ears.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: So just a heads up for those of you who may not be prepared. I try my best to keep Subaru in character, particularly based off of the Haunted Dark Bridal game and some of the drama cds. So with that said, this IS a sadistic, dark Subaru. ALL of the boys will be sadistic and dark, there won't really be anything fluffy here. So if that's what you came for, you are in the wrong place. Now that I've got that out of the way, carry on! I hope you enjoy it!**

Her fingernails were breaking, cracking as she clawed desperately at the heavy stone slab that kept her sealed in. The musky odor of the casket had been notable before she had been closed in but now that she was trapped, completely swallowed by darkness it was over powering. Her skin felt gross as it rubbed against the filthy and withering cloth beneath her. The darkness was so engulfing, so complete and devoid of any life it felt like ink was flooding her pores. Anytime she felt the bare skin of her thigh brush against the decaying bones in the casket with her she had to forcefully swallow the bile in her throat. She was regretting wearing shorts.

Cora had no idea how long she was trapped in there. No light at all could come through and the panic that was crushing her throat made her sense of time slip away. How long would she be able to breathe like this? She'd run out of air eventually. Tears were pouring from her eyes and broken sobs escaped her lips as she fought to get out of her new prison. She knew of no magic that could help her and while her storm magic may be powerful, she would need a raging storm overhead to harness the level of power needed to free herself.

It was so cramped and she could barely move. Fear had paralyzed her vocal cords and she could only scrabble flimsily at the lid but nothing would make it budge. Her limbs were shaking heavily, blood trailing down the skin of her forearms. She was slowly starting to realize that she was not going to get out of here without help. Cora didn't think she could feel any more afraid until she realized that she was going to have to rely on a very sadistic and unstable vampire to free her from the casket. No one else would even know she was here and she wasn't entirely convinced that any of them would care enough to look for her.

The longer she waited, the more her mind began to haze over. Clear thought became impossible and her breathing steadily grew more labored. Any thoughts or perceptions she had became hazy and muddled. An intense drowsiness had begun to creep up on her as her heart palpitated rapidly and in abnormal rhythms in her chest. Still in her sluggish panic, she still groped for something, anything that could free her. The witch let out a distressed cry as she felt a spider creeping up her leg.

'Out.' She thought in her foggy fear, 'out, out, out, let me out.'

She felt her consciousness continually spiral downwards, her limbs growing weak until she had come to the dazed realization that this was where she was going to die. Just as she had arrived on the precipice of unconsciousness, the heavy stone slab above her began to move. The stone grinding was harsh in her ears but it was enough to keep her from passing out. Never before had she felt the moon was too bright because it was hard on her eyes after being in such darkness for what felt like an eternity. Cora flinched, squinting her eyes shut weakly and gave a weak moan.

"The fuck…?" came a gruff, familiar voice.

The first breath of fresh air nearly brought tears to her eyes but she was too out of it. Instead she just greedily gulped down air, trembling finely. A rough pair of hands grabbed her arms and she was hauled out. Cora's sight was hazy but she squirmed pathetically, all of her energy drained from her as she tried to free herself. The witch couldn't even muster the strength to lift her head so it lolled back as she was pulled from the casket. Her dark eyes caught sight of silver hair flashing in the moonlight and she knew who had saved her. But in her current situation, Cora couldn't help but feel she had been pulled from one bad situation into another.

Subaru had tried to bite her the last time she had seen him but now she was weak, had no holy water and no raging storm to fuel her magic. But consciousness was barely clinging to her and she felt so weak and limp within his hold. Once she was cleared of the stone coffin, she was dropped unceremoniously to the ground. Nausea filled her as she continued to gulp down the air she felt so deprived of, her heart still palpitating in her chest. But as she continued to breathe, her mind seemed to clear more, until at last she was able to think concisely again.

"I'm gonna curse…the fuck out of him…." She muttered under her breath as she still panted, "I'm…gonna curse…the absolute shit out of him…"

Subaru snickered above her, "And where was all of that power you claim to have when you were first shoved in there?"

Cora staggered to her feet, still feeling unsteady, clutching her palm to her head before fixing a venomous glare onto him. She really didn't want to admit that Kanato had gotten the best of her. But she also knew that considering she was locked in a coffin, there wasn't exactly room for doubt. Subaru's jab made shame burn in her cheeks but she still clung to her anger to try and build herself back up. Those red eyes narrowed slightly before he shot out a hand to seize her arm. Her reflexes were still blunted from the time she had spent locked in the coffin so she was unable to dodge.

Her free hand clenched into a fist and she hurled it at his face but he easily caught her wrist. Subaru gave a low rumbling laugh, his fangs peeking from beneath his lips in his smirk. Cora could still remember his threat to her in the courtyard garden on how he would break her wrists and knew that he would likely do the same here. That knowledge stilled her struggles as he hauled her in closer to him, his nose barely an inch away from her own. Subaru then tilted his head to the side and drew in slightly closer before taking a long smell of her.

"Heh." He smirked, releasing her suddenly so she stumbled, "Kanato locked you in there. I can smell him beneath all of that decay."

Cora couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when he did not trouble her anymore than to smell her. The witch had expected him to try and bite her again but it would seem he was content with taunting her for the time being. It was irritating but she would take it with minimal complaint for now. Cora rubbed the side of her head, which was aching miserably from where Kanato had hit her. Subaru's crimson gaze locked onto that very spot. She was certain that there must have been a bruise there but she couldn't really see.

"You're lucky that I found you or you would have rotted."

Subaru sounded more delighted about that then she really thought he ought to be.

"Kanato might have come back…" the witch replied faintly.

The pure blood really DID laugh that time, "Come back? The pipsqueak?" he hooded his eyes and drew in close to her, "You really don't know anything do you?"

Cora cried out in protest when Subaru seized the back of her neck in his cold fingers. But he didn't draw her in to him, instead he turned her around and forced her to bend over the coffin. Panic rose in her, fearing that he intended to lock her back in but he did nothing more than force her to stare into the dirty bottom. A fearful shudder still rolled through her as she stared down into what had been her prison for an unknown amount of time.

"It's a coffin." She snapped in a strained voice, swallowing her fear forcefully, "So what?"

"And what do you see in that coffin?"

Dust, a withering cloth, crawling spiders and… her eyes widened. Bones. They were old but not ancient. She wagered about a few years. The boys had still been receiving brides at that time those bones couldn't have been….could they? Cora paled and swallowed the lump lodged in her throat.

"Is that…? Those aren't…the bones of a bride are they?"

She could practically hear Subaru's smirk, "Heh, now you get it. That was Kanato's last bride. Normally he makes them into dolls, preserves them or some shit. But this one pissed him off real bad, was rebellious like you." He paused to let that sink in, "So he decided that she didn't deserve the quick death he could give her if he made her a doll. I could hear her screaming on the first day but it stopped by the second day."

Cora could not stop the sheer look of horror and disgust that crossed her face. Her entire life she had been told that vampires were cruel beasts but no one had ever elaborated on just how cruel. In fact many witches who knew almost pointedly didn't talk about it. And she was beginning to understand why. Her heart was plummeting within her chest when she realized that she was stuck with these beasts, the gravity of her situation hitting her hard.

Then anger took over her. These monsters just shoved a screaming human girl into this coffin and left her to die. And what was worse was that Subaru heard! Cora managed to reach around and shove the vampire hard, hard enough to make him let go of her as he staggered back and she whirled around to face him.

"You HEARD her?! And you just left her in there?!"

There was a moment where rage lashed in his eyes but at her horrified demand for answers, a cruel smirk cross his lips. Subaru lunged forward but did not grab Cora. Instead he shoved her back against the coffin and slammed his arms on either side of her, crowding into her personal space and brought his face dangerously close to hers.

"Why wouldn't I?" He taunted her cruelly, the smirk still on his mouth but a simmering anger brimming in his eyes, "She was nothing. Nothing more than prey, food for us to feed on. And you are barely above her level, witch."

Was this a fate that awaited her if they failed these negotiations? Would Kanato have really left her in there? She knew the answer was yes. He had barely seemed concerned about the treaties, probably didn't care at all. Already she had been locked into a coffin, assaulted more than once on her first few days, drugged and threatened within her short time at the mansion. What more would they do to her? And how much worse would it get if she failed and she was no longer considered valuable?

Subaru's smile widened, "Are you starting to realize your place, little girl? I hope so, I want to see that look of fear on your face more."

His voice had dropped to a low timbre at that last sentence, earning a shudder from Cora. Her wide, dark eyes were staring at his scarlet ones, her heart palpitating in her chest. Despite feeling uncomfortable and a little afraid when she first came, in that moment she really and truly felt like prey. Her bones were nearly gripped with a raw horror as it all sank it just what she had gotten herself into. Subaru raised one of his hands and lightly clutched her throat, not applying any pressure but the threat was still there.

"I can feel your pulse pounding beneath my hand…" He sniggered, "It's about time you learned to fear us."

But there was something that didn't make sense to her. If Subaru hadn't cared about the last bride that had been locked into that casket, why would he have bothered to free her? How did he even find her to begin with? She wasn't screaming when she was trapped in there so she hadn't been making a whole lot of noise. How long had she even been locked in there?

"If I'm so worthless…" she asked slowly, trying not to move too much in his grasp, "Then why did you free me? How did you even know I was in there?"

Subaru gave a warning squeeze of her throat, "Tch. Don't get cocky or nothin'. That glasses guy was raising a fit that you were missing and insisted that something had to have happened to you. Said you wouldn't dare miss his lessons now that you understood your place."

Cora's eyes widened considerably, "His lesson?! Then that means I was locked in there for a whole day!"

Silver flashed before her eyes until Subaru was barely an inch away from her face, eyes hooded in a predatorial satisfaction. For one wild moment, she had thought he was going to kiss her but he did not move for her lips. He chuckled lowly in the back of his throat, his cold hand still lightly wrapped around her neck.

"Where's all that witch power now? Huh?"

He was taunting her and she knew it but for some reason all she could do was stare into his brilliant red eyes. Cora could not pull her gaze away no matter how hard she tried. Her pulse had evened out and she could feel energy amassing within her head. The witch realized then that she was about to have a vision. She gritted her teeth and then was suddenly assaulted with a flash of light behind her eyes.

 _The world fell away and revealed a dark prison cell. It was such a dreary place, with torches that provided the orange blanket of light. But even with the fire light there was no warmth that could be brought to this prison. Locked away behind the iron bars was a beautiful woman but madness and sorrow rolled off of her like a wave. She was shuddering on her knees, her torso rested against the bars. Her skin was naturally fair but it had taken on a sickly pitch from her time locked away. Her hair rolled down her shoulder like liquid moonlight until it pooled into her lap._

 _But her eyes were a familiar, sad scarlet._

 _Cora's eyes widened when a tugging of understanding began to creep into her mind. But it was crystal clear when she caught sight of a small boy, with hair like moonlight and mournful red eyes standing outside of the cell. It was no mystery that this young boy was Subaru and the woman in the cell was his mother. Hysterical sobs tore from her throat from within her prison, one fragile hand clutching a bar shakily but the other was pressing a knife into child Subaru's trembling hands._

" _Mother…" He sobbed, afraid to close his fingers around the weapon._

" _You have to kill for me! I need you to commit murder!" She insisted, her voice wild._

 _His mother was weeping as well. Never before had Cora seen anyone look so worn down and shattered but this woman looked so broken. Subaru resisted, trying to shove the knife back to her and away from him, crying harder. Who would ask for their child to commit murder? He was already small but he seemed to become even smaller when that knife was pushed into his fragile looking hands._

" _You have to kill me!" she sobbed hysterically, "I'm filthy. FILTHY, CORRUPTED, POLLUTED! YOU HAVE TO MURDER ME!" His mother collapsed even more in broken hopelessness against the bars, "You…you were always such a gentle boy. But you are disgusting too. You are a vile thing that came from me. I am unclean…kill me. Kill me, please Subaru, kill me."_

 _Cora felt her breath catch in her throat, unable to believe what she was seeing. If she had been there in her body, she would have clutched her mouth to stifle the horrified gasp that wanted to escape her. The silver-haired boy was crying and shaking his head adamantly, calling for his mother, telling her that he wouldn't do it. She would hear none of it, reached her hand out and grabbed the back of his head, yanking him in close to the cell._

" _YOU HAVE TO!" she screamed into his face, "IT'S YOUR FAULT. YOU POLLUTED ME! I CAN'T LIVE WITH THIS ANYMORE, STRIKE FOR MY HEART!"_

" _Christa…that's enough." Came a new, masculine voice._

And just like that the vision was ended. For a moment she was incredibly dizzy and touched her hand to her forehead as she tried to regain herself. The vision that had just played out in vivid color in her mind rattled her, shook her to the core. Cora found herself wondering just what other horrors had Subaru been exposed to in his childhood.

"Oi, little girl!" Snapped the vampire in question, giving her a shake, "The fuck was that all about? Your eyes were glowing and you weren't answering me."

Despite his attempt to get her attention, the witch was staring almost dazedly at his chest. A coldness had settled over her as she tried to really come to grips with what she had just seen. The gift of foresight and divination was not one that she had wanted. When Cora was a sprouting witchling she had gotten her hands on several sets of tarot and oracle cards, wanting to be a Seer like Sage Megumi. But whispers from other witches had set her on edge and they all told her that if she cultivated the gift then tragedy and misfortune would follow her wherever she went. So she had put her cards away years ago. But even then she could not stop the random visions that would take her.

"Hey!" Subaru gripped her jaw hard, forcing her face up, "Anyone in there? I'm talking to you!"

Cora swallowed hard. What could she even say? There were no words she could think of to offer after seeing his own mother try to force him to kill her. Watched as she screamed at him and claim he was the reason that she was dirty and corrupted. What had happened to her? What had happened to him? The rosette let her eyes go into focus and she stared into his demanding red gaze.

"Why…" She took a steady breath, "Why did your mother beg for you to kill her?"

His eyes snapped wide open in shock at her question. And then hot fury washed back over them. It was that fury that brought him to cast her to the ground, a snarl ripping from his throat. Vicious fangs bared at her as she crawled backwards in the dirt of the cemetery to get some distance between them. Subaru did not move, did not advance towards her, just stood his ground with his chest heaving. His knuckles were whitening even further as he clenched his fists painfully tight. Cora began to regret saying anything as he glared down at her.

"You rooted through my memories! You cast a spell on me, _**witch**_." He spat out that word like it was the vilest thing in existence, "WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!"

His roar made her bones shake, "I-It wasn't on purpose-!"

"DON'T LIE TO ME!"

Bestial was the best word that could describe Subaru as he began to advance towards her, a brutish fury pouring from his powerful frame. Cora could see all the protection her status as diplomat gave her evaporating before her eyes. He was going to kill her. The witch harnessed the storm that called in her blood and she brought it bursting forward to defend her. A flash of lightning erupted from her palms and exploded before her, blowing Subaru back through the air.

Cora did not wait to see him land, she leapt to her feet and took off running. At this stage he was clearly enraged beyond reason and she wasn't going to stick around to try and talk reason into him. This head start would only do her so much good with his speed, strength and natural senses as a hunter but it was something. Cora was already trying to come up with an idea of how she could repel him should he descend upon her again but would she get the chance?

If he was angry enough then he could just snatch her up and snap her neck before she could do anything about it. Deciding she couldn't take the risk, she called up her magic again and let the lighting and the distant echoing of thunder sheath her frame. This barrier wouldn't last long since it would lose energy as she went but it would keep him from just being able to snatch her up before she could do anything about it. Cora estimated that she could refresh this barrier two more times before she would be drained.

'I better run really damn fast then.' She thought with dread.

The mansion loomed in the distance underneath the light of the moon and somehow it felt like if she could make it then she would be safe. Cora had no idea what made her feel that way since the mansion was still his home and there wouldn't really be anything stopping him from ripping her throat out but it was her only salvation. And there would be more places to hide. Perhaps if she made it to Reiji in time he could stop his murderous rampage.

A strangled scream caught in her throat when Subaru suddenly appeared before her, his teeth bared in a dangerous smirk, "Heh, it's nice to see you run like the prey you are. I was going to kill you but your fear is so arousing. And I haven't even had the chance to taste your blood."

Cora recoiled in horror and disgust at his statement that her fear was arousing. That was not something that she had expected but hearing that made her even more disturbed. She realized then that she had stopped running and if she didn't get moving she was going to lose her first barrier. Her dark eyes hardened as she reminded herself that she wasn't as powerless as he was making her feel. Digging her shoes into the dirt, she charged forward towards Subaru. The vampire looked surprised but as she drew closer, he caught sight of the electrical sheath that encompassed her.

The witch lashed out her hand at him. The attack never landed but that didn't matter, it allowed her to rush past him since he couldn't touch her without shocking himself. This barrier wouldn't last much longer for her but it would get her a little ways closer to the mansion. As she continued to run, it was disturbing that she couldn't hear or see Subaru. But yet she could _feel_ him following her. This level of vulnerability shook her deeply, never in her life had she felt hunted like this. There was a bit of bedroom play with this kind of dynamic with Amane but it was in an entirely different context and all consensual.

Here if she got caught she could be bitten and possibly killed.

The sound of her heartbeat roared in her ears as she continued to race back towards the mansion. Almost there! She was running along the outer walls, drawing nearer to a side door that leads back inside. However an icy arm wrapped around her waist like a vice, trapping one of her own arms in the process. Before she could even blink her face was shoved against the coarse stonework of the mansion, a large hand gripping the back of her skull and holding her head there. In her rush she hadn't even realized that her barrier had disintegrated.

A hard, cold body crowded up against her and she could see a glimpse of luminous red eyes glinting back at her. A wicked laugh left him before he dipped his head down while she awkwardly tried to reach around with her left arm to hit him. The angle was all wrong and with him crowding her, pinning her and making her panic she found it hard to focus and channel the power that she had in a way that wouldn't possibly kill them both.

"Play time is over, little girl." He growled out in dark amusement into her ear.

"Get off of me!" she spat, her free left arm flailing ineffectively against him.

"I don't think so. I caught you fair and square." He buried his nose into her hair, "You're **my** prey now. Mmmm you smell obscene with that magic. It's your body begging me to bite you."

Her heart bottomed out in dread, panic squeezing her mind so tightly clear thought and focus had nearly evaporated. Cora renewed her struggles, bucking and squirming wildly against him. A snarl came from his mouth then at her defiance.

"Stop struggling! Sit fucking still!"

"Fuck you!" she screamed at him, still thrashing in his grasp.

Subaru released her head for one moment and suddenly there was a loud crunching next to her head. Cora could not contain the scream that erupted from her, the stone sending spiderweb cracks across the wall around the crater where his fist landed. That could have been her head! The vampire pressed his icy lips to her ear then, rich laughter vibrating in his chest.

"Stop resisting…" He threatened lowly right into her ear, "or I'll break you just like that wall."

Fear brought her to freeze in his grasp but even then she still could not stop the trembling of her frame within his brutal grasp. Subaru brought his left hand back up to thread through her hair where he took a hold of it into a fist and tugged her head back so it was resting on his shoulder.

"Good girl." He purred, deeply taking in her scent, "Hehehehe I still have to punish you for using that spell on me."

A shameful whimper escaped her when he pressed himself harder against her and she could feel his hard length through their clothes. Dread filled her as she realized that her fear and weakness really was arousing him. Desperation was gripping her throat. Her magic brimmed beneath her skin but in her terror it snapped and crackled violently. In this close of quarters she could lose control if she wasn't careful and possibly kill them both.

"Mmm your fear is so intoxicating. Heh, I've never had a witch cower in my grasp before. Never had witch blood before either."

A startled cry left her lips when Subaru dipped his head and dragged his icy tongue along the flesh of her neck. A shudder followed down her spine, a great maw opening up in the pit of her stomach. The impending threat of him going to bite her renewed her squirming. In response, he tugged harshly on her hair.

"Didn't I warn you what would happen if you struggled? Be obedient!"

Cora was breathing in shuddering gasps now, trembling within his grasp. She couldn't let this happen! It would corrupt her magic! Her body! Everything! Desperation lead her to do something that would sting her pride later.

"Please…please don't do this." Her voice croaked out feebly.

"Begging me now? This is a nice side of you. Maybe if you beg me some more I'll consider it."

The witch jerked when he licked sharply at her neck again, "Please! Don't do this, please!"

"Is that all? That's not enough, especially not with how **good** you taste."

Cora couldn't let this happen. She couldn't. Absolutely terrified she took a slow, deep breath in, allowing her eyes to drift closed. Another deep breath. She could hear the distant memory of her teacher in the coven. Reminding her to breathe back in her beginning stages of magic, when she was first learning control of her talent.

" _Focus. And breathe. Focus. And breathe. Breathe. Breathe."_

The magic beneath her skin settled to a steady thrum instead of the wild chaotic mess that it had been before. This she could handle. This…was what she was. Cora gathered herself and then snapped her eyes open. She released her magic then in a controlled burst. The electricity coursed through Subaru, locking and spasming his muscles until she was able to wriggle out of his grasp. The deepest part of her wanted to flee and hide in her room but she found herself turning to look at him.

The vampire was on the ground, still trying to regain control of his muscles and motor functions but he was still very conscious. Anger coursed through her at the thought of how much he had made her cower in his grasp. It made her feel sick. She couldn't change that but she could still leave with some dignity.

" **I am not your prey**." She growled through gritted teeth, "And I hope you like hexes because I am definitely going to send one your way."

With that promise, Cora slipped back inside before he could get back up. Reiji would be waiting for her, no doubt, but that was not where she was going to go first. First priority for her was a shower to wash off the death of that casket and then to prepare an appropriate spell to punish Kanato and Subaru for what they had done. Adrenaline still gripping her tightly, she clenched her fists as she hurried back to her room as quickly and quietly that she could manage.

'Alright you leeches. You want to play dirty? I will play dirty.'


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: It's been a while since my last update on this! I hope it was worth the wait!**

"I should punish you for your extreme tardiness, Ms. Fuller."

It had not even been two minutes since she arrived into Reiji's study for his dance lesson and already she was regretting showing up at all. Cora knew that she was supposed to be behaving in a more "diplomatic" manner but damn he was pissing her off. He even KNEW that she was clearly not in a position to make it on time, Subaru had given that away when he had found her in the coffin.

"I was locked in a stone coffin in the graveyard." Cora deadpanned, keeping the irritation from her voice.

A smirk quirked at Reiji's lips, "Oh? And is it my responsibility to educate you on the wisest places you should spend your time? You are a witch, I'm afraid I would be here for days teaching you sense."

"I did not go into the graveyard, willingly." the rosette ground out, gritting her teeth.

Reiji did not look at her, he was far more preoccupied with leafing through a journal of some sort. Cora couldn't see what was written inside, although she could see quite clearly that everything was handwritten. A dark eye flicked over to the assortment of beakers and potions on the far side of his study. Cora would venture to guess that they were notes, probably about his experiments. A shudder rolled down her spine when she remembered how he drugged her tea with that tincture that made her ears ring to extreme discomfort.

Mirth glinted in the vampire's eyes though he still did not grace her with his stare, "Oh? And just how did you come to be there?"

She felt her pride already sting with having to admit to another one of those leeches that she had been overpowered. With each passing moment she was feeling more and more like prey. Cora had showered vigorously after making it back to the mansion and the hot water was not enough to wash away the old decay of the crypt and the memory of Subaru pinning her against the wall. She could still feel the icy chill of his tongue dragging up the side of her neck, his hand fisted in her hair, hear his rumbling laughter in her ear.

'Pride may help me get through a lot here but I'm going to need to learn when to swallow it too.' Cora told herself, clenching her fist and then forcing herself to relax it.

"I had just arrived back from speaking with my coven and went to the kitchen to get something to eat. Mirror travel takes a ton of energy and I needed to replenish desperately. But Kanato tracked me down there. He flew off the handle for reasons I could not tell you and stunned me with a hit to the head." A frown twisted at her lips, "I had tried to be reasonable and…'diplomatic' with him but that was clearly a mistake."

"Clearly." He replied with an amused curl of his lips, "You are a foolish girl if you thought you could reason with him."

'Unbelievable.' She thought with a glare at him, 'I try to be reasonable and treat his family with respect, do the right thing and I'm still fucking wrong.'

There were so many things she wanted to say to him. A few creative and colorful things he could go do with his fangs were among them. But Cora held her tongue and took a quiet, deep breath to settle her anger. Reiji had just threatened her barely a day ago with telling his father that the negotiations would be a waste of time and she could not risk him doing that now. Irritation pricked at her skin as she was already finding her limits tested. The rosette could think of no words that would help her in this situation so instead she opted for silence.

When Cora had nothing to say, Reiji DID look up from his journal then, "You are quiet."

"I have nothing else to say. I will not just speak to fill silence." Cora replied primly.

He tilted his head subtly to the side and looked at her as if he had never seen her before. She might have been mistaken, but Cora felt that he almost looked impressed. But Reiji seemed talented at schooling his face to a mask of indifference. She made a note that she would have to learn to do that if she wanted to survive these negotiations.

An amused smirk crossed his lips once more, "I guess that even you cannot be entirely hopeless. Perhaps there is a small chance you are teachable after all."

Cora flexed her jaw but managed to maintain her silence.

"Quiet again? My, my you are showing more potential than I expected."

'Diplomatic.' The witch reminded herself with a deep breath, 'Be diplomatic.'

What would even be a diplomatic thing she could say? All her life she had been blunt and to the point and now she was having to watch her words carefully and she already hated it. But this was not a battle she would win if she was belligerent about this so being tactful would be better suited for the situation. Carefully she lifted her dark eyes to survey Reiji and caught the hint of something predatory gleaming behind his glasses. The sight made her think of Subaru chasing her through the grounds from the cemetery. Made her think of him pinning her to the wall, iron strong arm wrapped around her waist. She could hear the way his voice growled with hunger into her ear.

She remembered Kanato throwing her in the coffin with delight. Cora remembered the bones that were waiting inside for her. And all of this made her wonder just what Reiji was capable of. It suddenly became apparent to her just how much power he held in his form. If she watched closely she could see an unnatural smoothness and precision behind each and every one of his motions. It made her realize that if he wanted to kill her then he could snap her neck before she could even do anything about it.

'And my main defense is a very unsteady peace talk that has a lot of opposition on both sides.'

Cora swallowed the lump in her throat, "May we get on with the lesson? I have a lot of improvements to make."

He should be happy with that statement.

"Indeed and on more than just your dancing."

'Jackass. I find a way to be diplomatic and he finds a way to be insulting to me. I swear I'm going to curse him too.'

He rose effortlessly and stepped over to Cora, her shoulders growing tense at his nearness. This was not something she was looking forward to but she was stuck in this situation and she had to follow through. The vampire took her waist in his hand and drew her to him, taking up her right hand in his left. He was so close, unnervingly so and she could smell a faintly sweet aroma from him, likely from his lab work. He was crowding so effectively to her space that she didn't even want to look up and she felt all of her muscles lock.

"We will start with the Waltz, an essential for any affair where there will be ballroom dance."

"Yeah, I'm not so certain I can do this."

"Don't be absurd. It is a simple enough matter. Straighten your back."

Cora did as he ordered though a scowl remained on her face. Reiji sighed, sounding disappointed and released her. The frown across her mouth deepened, confused at his reaction. She had done what he asked so what exactly had displeased him? Cora felt like it was impossible to NOT disappoint Reiji. She blinked her dark eyes and suddenly there was a riding crop in his gloved hand. She had no idea where that came from but she was not at all comforted by the fact that he had it. The folded leather tip trailed up her neck and he tilted her chin upwards slightly.

"Keep your chin high." His wine eyes surveyed her critically and then clucked his tongue, "Your posture is horrendous and it will not do if you are to learn to dance…" Reiji pinched the bridge of his nose and lowered his crop, "I will have to start entirely from scratch with you."

Irritation pricked at her nerves then. In her opinion, Cora's posture was just fine and if she was to stand anything at all like Reiji she felt that she would look stiff. The witch tried valiantly to keep her words caged behind her teeth but her control on her irritation with him had already slipped drastically after his earlier condescending attitude.

"My posture is just fine thanks." She bit out between her clenched teeth.

A powerful sting blossomed over the side of her thigh before she could even blink, earning a shrill shriek of pain in surprise along with a string of curses. Her mind was a few seconds behind in processing what happened before she realized that Reiji had struck her with his crop for her lip.

"A lady does not speak in such an ugly manner." He chided her with a smirk at her pain.

Hot rage pooled to her cheeks and she clenched her fists, "And here I thought I was here to be taught how to dance, not how to be a lady."

The vampire laughed a sharp sound that made a chill roll down her spine and he swept his hair up out of his face. He regarded her with mirth that did little to cool her anger and she desperately wanted to send him flying back into the wall.

"Truly? You really are a fool. Did you honestly think that I would let you represent this family at such proper affairs and _only_ train you how to dance? How absurd. No I will train you on how to be a proper lady in every respect. Perhaps we should start with that vulgar mouth?"

Cora was done and they had barely started, "You know what? You wanna see a vulgar mouth? Fuck you and this mansion and your brothers and just ALL OF YOU FUCKING LEECHES!"

The rosette turned on her heel and stormed towards the door only to see Reiji standing firmly in front of it. A snarl tore past her lips, her patience gone altogether. Cora refused to remain in this room any longer after all of the attitude he had given her. He actually hit her. Words could not express just how furious she was with him.

"Move."

"Absolutely not."

The smirk was gone from his face and he looked just as displeased as her. Incensed, she called to the storm brewing in her blood, bringing the energy to her right arm. Her hand was encased with thin volts of electricity, crackling ominously in the light of his study.

"Get out of my way."

That same horrible smile from the last time he threatened her crossed his face, "Strike me and I will consider it a threatening act towards myself and my father and these peace talks will end very abruptly."

She was still far too angry to freeze with fear but that threat was enough to give her pause. Was attacking him really worth it? It might give her instant gratification but that attack would set their chance for peace back and possibly plunge them all back into war for centuries. Cora found her arm steadily drifting downwards but the lightning stayed sheathed around her skin. He was right, she couldn't attack him.

"Now, are you quite finished?" he asked her, curling his lip in distaste.

And just like that, her fury had returned in full force. He was so condescending towards her and she just couldn't stand it. She felt her limbs shaking from her rage. The amount of disrespect he tossed her way was enough to make her grind her teeth.

"I don't know, are you finished being a demeaning asshole?"

"Perhaps when you have earned respect, you will receive it."

Cora snarled, "No that is not how it works. I walked through these doors fully ready to be at least amicable with you all, even if I didn't like having to be here. But since day one, all of you have insulted me, harassed me and threatened me and I will not stand for it!"

"Were you under the misguided thought that we would hold your hand?" the smirk that was across his mouth was filled with venom, "That we would throw roses at your feet for your presence? How presumptuous of you."

"No!" she shrieked, "No I expected you all to at least be cordial about all of this! You have treated me like nothing but an animal for you to-"

Rich laughter rang from within Reiji's throat, his shoulders quaking in mirth, "Honestly now, you truly are foolish. You ARE an animal. You are prey." Something in his eyes flashed, "And it seems that your memory is abhorrent as well for you have already forgotten the fact after you were attacked by some of my brothers."

Suddenly, Reiji was upon her and the world blurred in her peripheral vision until she came to a stop ontop of a desk, the corner of the desk digging harshly into her lower back. Her hands were pinned on either side of her and her vision was swallowed up with the elder vampire's face looming overhead. In that moment, Reiji embodied the very vision of a predator and Cora suddenly was struck with the realization that out of all the brothers, she should probably fear him the most.

Finding herself pinned for the second time that day, her words of rage died in her throat. When she first arrived, Cora was able to resist and cling to her rebellious nature. But that was before she had truly realized her position in this home. She was getting a glimpse of the truly monstrous side of these brothers and the more she saw, the more like prey to them she felt. What really disturbed her about her current situation was that Reiji was not hurting her. He merely held her firmly in place but somehow he gave off this aura with a threat of pain should she struggle.

"You forget your place too quickly." He informed her with his sharp eyes boring into her, "Your intelligence leaves much to be desired. It seems I will have to give you many lessons about your place."

How many times had she been rendered helpless in the past twenty four hours? She felt her blood thickening to ice as he lowered his head to her neck, his hands giving a tight squeeze on her wrists in warning. Trembles raced down her limbs, her back and her lips quivered in dread anticipation. She had to stop this. But wild thrashing would change nothing with Reiji and only make things worse. Diplomatic. She had to be diplomatic. This wouldn't be the first precarious situation awaiting her and she had to handle it all tactfully. Cora screwed her eyes shut and took shaky deep breaths, touching on the storm that brewed in her blood. She did not summon it to her skin, merely cradled it close to her spirit and reminded herself that she was powerful.

Reiji's nose grazed the side of her throat, taking in her scent.

"If you try to bite me…" she said evenly, "I am within my rights of this peace talk to retaliate in my own defense. Even your father knows this as something that will happen. You will have little ground to stand on."

The vampire paused at her neck and pulled back to look her in the eyes. An amused smirk was curled across his lips, "You cannot honestly tell me that your coven sent you here without the knowledge that you would eventually be bitten. They and you will not risk a halt in these negotiations because of something so trivial."

Reiji's aura was bearing down on her but Cora remained steady, "One: being bitten by a vampire is not considered trivial to any in our coven. Two: I never said the negotiations would halt. They know that there is a high chance of me being bitten but just like they know that, your father knows that if one of you do bite me I **will** retaliate." She narrowed her dark eyes at him, "So if you want to get your fangs wet, just know I will blast you through the wall of your own study."

For measure, she sheathed her fists in crackling electricity. Reiji's face was as unreadable as stone. The smirk was still in place but the emotion behind it had vanished. Now it was an effective mask and Cora began to wonder if she had won or not. He let go of her left hand and gripped her jaw. A shadowy look fell across his eyes but he didn't look wholly unhappy.

"It would seem that there is hope for you not to embarrass this family afterall."

Cora figured that was going to be as close to a compliment she would ever get from him.

Xxxxx

When Reiji was finished with her lesson it was well into the dark early hours of the morning. And she was sore and bruised in many places from his crop. Cora had tried to resist such a method for his lessons but realized that it would earn her nothing and he would not budge from his way of teaching. Cora lost count of how many times he had struck her. At least he was nice enough to make some tea for her to "reinvigorate her body" as he had called it. Aching all over, Cora dragged herself back to her room where she could recover for the rest of the night. But the witch had not expected to find one of the brothers waiting for her in her room. She should have but she didn't.

"What are you doing here?" She snapped irately.

Ayato's eyes glinted, "I go where I want."

"Yes well, did you have to want to come to **my room**?"

"This is my mansion, Shortshit, which means every room is mine. Even yours."

"Excuse me?!"

Ayato had been lounging against the wall but suddenly disappeared in a blink and was right in front of her face, grabbing her wrist in a bruising grip, "You heard me. Shortshit. Or I could call you Puchi?"

Steam was practically pouring out of her ears, "How about neither?"

The red-head smirked at her and yanked her closer, "I'll call you whatever I want. You have no right to say otherwise."

"I daresay I have more 'right' than any previous woman you have had in your damn mansion. I am a guest, not one of your brides. You leech."

His eyes narrowed, "What did you call me?"

The witch flashed him a venomous smile, "Leech. You're not the only one who can give demeaning nicknames. Would you prefer Fang Face? How about Mosquito? Or even better! Parasite!"

A snarl slashed across his lips, baring his teeth before Cora found herself thrown. It took a few seconds of disorientation to realize that he had thrown her into her bathroom. Right where she had kept her jugs of holy water. The witch rolled over to face the tub, reaching out towards one of the large jugs, realizing she had only seconds before Ayato would be upon her. Her fingers bumped against the handle of the closest one and the bottle toppled over, landing with a traitorously hollow 'thunk' onto the tile.

Ayato sniggered from the bathroom door, arms over his chest, "Ore-sama decided to take care of your pesky holy water." He hooded his eyes as he leered down at her, "What are you going to do now…Puchi?"

"You…! You poured out my holy water?!"

"Consider it part of your punishment for spraying me with it." The vampire let his voice drop down several octaves, "I plan to do much more to punish you."

Cora gave a sharp laugh, "Yeah? And how are you planning on doing that? You Parasites can't harm me-"

"Too much."

A stillness fell over the air as she stared at him.

"What?" she asked him, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

A wicked smirk answered her inquiry, "I had a talk with that Tableware Otaku-"

"Who?"

"Reiji. Turns out…we can hurt you. Just nothing too severe." The vampire dragged his tongue across his lips, "Nothing life threatening. And nothing disfiguring. Takes away a lot of fun if you ask me but I can still…" he dropped his voice even further to a rumbling purr, " **Hurt** you."

Her breath caught in her chest and her eyes widened. That…was a loophole she had missed. Her sense of protection was slipping from her fingers. Cora realized that the treaty really only protected her from being killed and not much else. But her side of the treaty was…much more strict. Ayato smirked and shoved her against the counter, grabbing her throat tightly. Her hands flew to his wrist as he squeezed, slowly cutting off her air supply.

"That look…About time you learned to fear, Ore-sama." He invaded her space then, pushing her even harder against the counter of the bathroom sink. Ayato rumbled with a husky laugh. "I could get used to this…a witch at my mercy. Don't worry, I won't kill you…I'll just choke you until you nearly pass out."

Cora gave a strangled gasp around his hand, clawing desperately at his skin. Would her powers be warranted here? He said he wasn't going to kill her. Was it going to be a violation of the treaty? Would her retaliating here be considered a threat to his person? Could he even be trusted? She squirmed against him but his strength was overwhelming and she could not make him budge an inch. The witch balled her hands into fists and started punching, but darkness was beginning to creep along the edges of her vision and her strength was waning. Her right wrist was captured in a cruel grip and slammed down against the counter, pinned tightly in place.

Her lungs burned and her throat spasmed as she struggled. Logic and thought slipped through her fingers as shadows swam into her sight. Her panic grew, raw instinct nagging at her that she was going to die. Her power felt so far away, her muscles felt so detached from her own body. All that was left was her words.

"Pl….ease…"

His chuckle sounded dissonant and distant, "Begging now? That's good. Beg me again."

His grip lessened a tiny fraction. It became marginally easier for her to breathe. Pride was not a thought, no longer a feeling to her when she felt like her life was on the precipice of death. Cora rasped in another gasp of air, trembling against the vampire.

"Ple…ase." She choked out.

Ayato drew his face in close to hers, his mouth barely an inch away from her lips, "Call me Ore-sama."

"….Ore…sam…a"

Cora felt her eyes glazing over, felt the world starting to fall away until at the last second the vice grip on her throat was released. The witch collapsed in an undignified heap, coughing violently. Greedily, she gulped down air, starved for it. Her throat was throbbing painfully, every breath a sandpaper rub against her battered windpipe. Her vision swam and she shamefully realized that it was because her eyes were brimming with tears.

He made her beg. Actually made her beg even with the restrictions imposed by the peace talks. Had she overestimated her own abilities? Or had she simply underestimated theirs? First Reiji, now Ayato. Cora knew that she would have to swallow her pride but this was too much. Her limbs were trembling weakly as she caught her breath and heard Ayato laugh. The witch found herself hauled up roughly again and pinned against the counter once more.

"Get off of me!" she snapped weakly, her voice hoarse.

"Shut your mouth." He ordered, drawing his face in close, "Don't spoil my feast with your voice."

Cora foze, "Feast?"

"Tch, seriously, are you really this stupid?" He grabbed her jaw and turned her head, "I'm going to bite you, of course."

"No!"

The witch renewed her struggles, to which Ayato responded with anger. He snarled and whipped her around, twisting an arm cruelly behind her back. The change in position allowed her to see their reflection in the mirror. A strong arm was wrapped around her waist, trapping her left arm beneath it. A vicious smirk flashed at her from next to her left ear.

"Maybe if you say, 'Please, Ore-sama' then I'll show you mercy."

The mirror showed her wide, slightly red from her watery eyes earlier. Her neck was already blossoming a bruise from Ayato's punishment and the skin looked tender from the abuse. Cora has felt weak before but for the first time in her life she was staring at her reflection and saw a woman who was prey. Her father was the head of the coven so no one really messed with her and she never did pursue combat magic like Amane. Seeing her frightened reflection struck her to the core, a flowering burst of cold unraveling in her chest. And there was no one here to save her either.

Ayato's pale green eyes leered at her reflection and held her gaze. With a look of pure menace, he slowly licked his lips, awaiting for the begging. A silent plea was pouring from her as she begged her own inner storm to rise up, gift her with that righteous fury but only silence and fear answered. The arm around her waist tightened. Cora stared at the mirror and suddenly found her mind drifting towards Amane. A memory.

" _Hey Stormy, I wanna talk with you."_

 _Her ex-girlfriend's eyes were dark like her own but today she was lacking the impish smirk that Cora had fallen for a few years ago. Amane always held herself in such a carefree manner outside of her fights so whatever it was that she wanted to bring up must have been really worrying her. The two drifted off to find a rooftop on one of the temples. Cora's heart ached when she recognized it as the place where they had their first kiss._

" _This is about me going to the Sakamaki's, isn't it?"_

" _Yeah…" the battle witch took a seat and propped herself up against one of the marble columns engraved with runes to bless the temple, "I couldn't…just let you go without talking with you first."_

 _Cora took to a column across from her, the two close enough that they could hug if they leaned forward…or kiss like they once had. But now things were different and those magical kisses from Amane seemed a distant dream._

" _So what is it? Other than the generic warning of me to be careful."_

 _Amane shook her head, "Being careful won't mean a damn thing in that house. Everyone seems to understand the risks more than you do."_

 _She arched a skeptical brow, "I have read over the negotiations and risks."_

" _No, reading them and UNDERSTANDING them are way different. Listen, I know you're a tough girl and all but this will not be like anything you've seen or even heard. There's not a damn story that will prepare you."_

 _Normally Cora would argue but seeing Amane so uneasy silenced her argument, instead she leaned forward a bit, her arms resting ontop of her bent knees, "What advice do you have for me?"_

" _Get rid of your traditional meaning of victory. You won't hardly ever win. These…assholes are way stronger, smarter and quicker than you get right now. They will ALWAYS be able to overpower you and out run you."_

" _You are not exactly painting nice picture here."_

 _Amane's eyes hardened, "You aren't walking into a pretty painting. You are walking into a den of monsters. Monsters that want to use you and probably in more than just blood. Change your meaning of 'victory' for whatever they want from you, they can take without your consent."_

" _How do you suggest that then?"_

" _Don't let them bully you. Even with all of their strength and speed, they are going to try to make you afraid. No, not try, they WILL make you afraid. But don't give in to it. Sometimes you won't be able to help it and…that's ok. But whatever you can, do not let them hold the leash of your fear. Or you will ALWAYS be theirs."_

 _Cora noticed how Amane was trembling. She had never seen her tremble. She noticed how her eyes were looking more glassy from tears. She had almost never seen her cry. Every response and word seemed to ring from experience and Cora found herself fearing to ask what she had been through to know all of this. A lot of the missions Amane had been on were confidential so she never pushed. Heart aching within her chest, she leaned forward more and reached out a hand to cup her friend and ex lover's cheek._

 _A hand rose up to settle over hers. Tears spilled over then and Amane leaned into the touch, crying silently. Cora stroked her thumb across her cheekbone in a comforting gesture, feeling her own eyes stinging at the sight. The rooftop was almost quiet but the wind whispered by, drifting through the columns. The dark-haired woman sniffled and clung to her as if she were afraid she would disappear._

" _I'll come back." Cora promised softly._

" _No you won't."_

" _I am not going to die."_

" _Yes you are. One way or the other." Mahogany eyes locked with Cora, "Once you go….you are not coming back. Even if you are still breathing you will never be the same." A warm, shaky hand cupped Cora's cheek this time, "You won't ever be the same."_

 _Those words scared her and she found herself nuzzling into Amane's hand to ground herself, "I have to go." She whispered out faintly, "I have to. There is no one else."_

" _I can go."_

" _No, you can't. You are far too valuable to our work. If it comes to war… they'll need you. You're one of the best." Cora took a deep breath, "It has to be me. I'm tired of all of us fighting. Don't you want the same?"_

 _Amane hung her head and gave a sob, a woman torn between duty and love. She lifted her head then and leaned forward until her face was less than an inch away, "Can I kiss you? One last time before they send you off to those creatures? While you are still MY Cora?"_

 _The storm witch surged forward and pressed her lips against hers. Her own tears spilled over at the thought of leaving, at the feel of her lips and at the thought of possibly never coming back. Their kiss was filled with urgency, with all the forgotten questions, the feelings left unsaid and all the "what ifs" in the world. What if she didn't have to go? What if she stayed? What if the threat of war stopped in its tracks and everyone got along? What if she never came back? What if they all died? What if things between them had worked out? But above all there was one that their kiss kept circling back to:_

" _What if I loved you?"_

The memory abruptly ended, Cora's mind returning to the present. She was still staring down the reflection in the mirror and saw the terror lurking in her gaze. Saw Ayato's predatory delight looming behind her. He was waiting almost breathlessly for her to beg him again. To crumple pathetically in his grasp like she had when he choked her.

"Go on, Puchi." He rumbled out, "Beg me."

" _Don't let them bully you. Even with all of their strength and speed, they are going to try to make you afraid. No, not try, they WILL make you afraid. But don't give in to it. Sometimes you won't be able to help it and…that's ok. But whatever you can, do not let them hold the leash of your fear. Or you will ALWAYS be theirs."_

Amane's voice echoed in her ears and it gave her strength. The fear was still there but it suddenly wasn't as choking, as overwhelming. Her eyes glinted then with a new found strength. She still held the look of a girl who was terrified but also the look of a girl who was not going to give up.

"No."

 _What if she never came back?_

Her voice was hoarse and almost husky. It was softly spoken but Ayato had heard her loud and clear. A dark look crossed his face and he gave her jaw a dangerous squeeze. Cora flinched but did not retract her statement, did not collapse beneath his gaze.

"What did you say?" he demanded, threateningly.

 _What if they all died?_

"You heard me…No."

She felt her storm call to her then and she summoned it to her skin. Cora did not send him blasting back but the jolt of electricity was enough to force him to release her. He snarled but she whipped around to face him, straightening her back. For effect, she called her magic and conjured the sound of crashing thunder, the lights flickering around her.

"Get out." She told him quietly.

 _What if she wasn't enough?_

"You don't get to tell me what to do!" Ayato lurched forward.

Only Cora sent out another pulse that did push him back. She would herd him out of her room if she had to. But she kept her power under control. Before she had let loose the storm in uncontrolled explosions, only unleashing it when she needed it. Tonight, however, she would do so in controlled bursts and be the master of her own fate.

 _What if she failed?_

"You will not be getting my blood tonight." She told him, a strange stillness filling her as she allowed her magic to ooze around her like a cloud.

This gave Ayato pause, "Maybe not tonight…but I will." He promised her maliciously, "And I will be the first one to do it and in front of all of my brothers." The red-head narrowed his eyes, "And then they will all know you will belong to me."

 _What if she died?_

"Well you will not today." She told him evenly and then added in her thoughts, 'Or ever.'

"This isn't over." He hissed and he was gone in a blink.

Her shoulders dropped and a breath of relief escaped her. The witch barricaded her doors and huddled herself in a corner, the waxing gibbous moon swelling in the sky. The light pooled through to her floor and gathered on her skin. She curled up, knees to her chest and thought of home. Thought of Amane. Thought of anything other than her being stuck in this house with the fate of her entire coven riding on her shoulders. She thought of the rooftop. But most of all she thought of that good bye kiss.

Cora folded her arms ontop of her knees and buried her face into them, "What if I loved you?"


End file.
